


All I Do Is Dream Of You (Vogue Verse)

by notthetoothfairy



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Interns & Internships, Klaine Advent, Klaine Advent Drabble Challenge 2016, M/M, New York City, Vogue Blaine, Vogue Kurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-13 12:27:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 32,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9123547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notthetoothfairy/pseuds/notthetoothfairy
Summary: Kurt’s interview at Vogue.com lands him an internship in fashion design, an opportunity to change his career path and, most importantly, a maybe-not-so-hopeless crush on his co-worker Blaine. Vogue!AU with intern!Klaine. Written for Klaine Advent 2016. Changing POVs (Kurt odd and Blaine even chapter numbers).





	1. An AUDIENCE with the Queen

**Author's Note:**

> The title is a song from Singing in the Rain. RIP Debbie Reynolds (and everybody else we've lost this year).

**Step 1 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Score an interview at Vogue.com.**

“Okay, I can do this, I know everything about her,” Kurt murmurs to himself, tightening the grip on his leather satchel. “She double-majored in fashion design and-”

“Miss Wright will see you now,” the bored receptionist announces and Kurt jumps in his seat at the sudden interruption. The receptionist spares him a look, eyebrows raised in disbelief. “Not you,” she tells him. “You.”

_You_ is a girl with bright purple hair and a blotchy red face. She has been biting her nails non-stop since she entered the room and she’s quite possibly the only person in the room even more nervous than Kurt. She’s dressed in nice, fashionable clothes, obviously chosen to look cute and edgy, but from the look of everyone else walking around on the floor, she’s a bit _too_ cute to work here.

Oh well, maybe she’s got a chance at Teen Vogue.

Kurt flinches. That was a harsh thought, even for his standards. He doesn’t necessarily want her to go home empty-handed. But… he _needs_ this internship. It’s his dream job and only silver lining in this New York beginner’s funk he’s been in. The “Big Apple Blues”, as Rachel has dubbed it.

The receptionist is still staring at him. Focusing on his one goal of getting this job, whatever the cost, he smiles at her apologetically instead of engaging in wild fantasies of his hippo brooch coming to life to bite her flippant head off.

He watches the carefully-curled purple locks spring up and down as the other applicant walks toward the general direction of where he suspects Miss Wright’s allegedly palatial office is.

Just as he’s about to go back to his fact-listing exercise, a guy with neatly gelled hair steps out of the elevator, looking a bit out of breath and zeroing in on the receptionist immediately.

“Hi,” he says, rushing to get to her desk. “I’m so sorry, I have an interview at ten… Anderson, my name’s first on the list there. I know it said to be here at least fifteen minutes earlier but there was a technical problem on the subway, the crowds were impossible to get through and-”

“Take a seat, please,” the receptionist says, unperturbed by the guy’s apologies.

“So… it’s okay? I can still-”

“Just take a seat.”

Kurt can only see his back but the guy visibly breathes a sigh of relief.

“Thank you!” he calls out cheerfully as he heads towards the waiting area. There’s only a few seats left, and Kurt expects the guy to take the one of the girl who just left, but in a few quick steps, the guy crosses over to the couch Kurt is sitting on and takes a seat right next to him.

Kurt scoots over a bit but doesn’t say anything. He finds it way too awkward to converse with people who could potentially steal his chance at an amazing career opportunity.

“Hi,” the guy says, and when Kurt looks over he’s greeted with a friendly grin. “You here for an audience with the queen as well?”

“Huh?”

“The queen,” the guy repeats. “You know. Isabelle Wright.”

“Oh. Right,” Kurt says inanely. “I am.”

“Cool.” Another smile. “I’m Blaine, by the way.”

Kurt shakes the extended hand hesitantly. This is not going as planned. He was going to remember facts and study his resume in silence, not make conversation with a rival.

Especially not a rival with _those_ looks. Blaine doesn’t look out of place at all, he seems to have stepped out right of an old movie with his big eyes and charming smile, dressed in a simple suit and dress shoes but with an added touch of a more modern, checkered bowtie.

While Kurt knows better than to be arrogant before going into an interview, he has to admit that none of the people coming and going for the past half hour seemed like threatening competition.

This guy, however? Kurt almost sees his resume go down the drain.

“Kurt,” he says with a tight voice.

“Nice to meet you.”

Kurt just nods in response, then lets his eyes wander back to the receptionist who is typing away on her computer.

“Are you nervous?” Blaine asks. “I kinda am. I mean-”

Kurt sighs. “Don’t take this the wrong way… Blaine,” he says sharply, “but I really don’t want to chit-chat right now.”

Blaine frowns for a tiny fraction of a second but his recovery time is pretty impressive.

“Oh, yeah, sure.” He opens and clothes his mouth as if he is going to say something else but then he just settles on, “Um, good luck, I guess.”

Kurt swallows around a lump that suddenly sits in his throat. God, he’s being so unnecessarily catty, what is wrong with him?

“Sorry,” he says. “That- I didn’t-“

“Miss Wright will see you now.”

Kurt only blinks as the receptionist looks straight at him this time. Apparently he takes a few seconds longer to process her words because she rolls her eyes and asks, “Or do you not want the interview anymore?”

“No,” Kurt blurts, then hurries to add, “I mean yes! Yes, I want the interview. Of course I do.”

He gets up quickly and awkwardly follows the direction the receptionist’s arm is pointing at. Right before rounding the corner, Kurt remembers he forgot to at least wish Blaine good luck as well but when he turns, a group of employees blocks his line of sight.

Kurt shakes his head to focus. He might not ever see that guy again, anyway.

Because, ideally, Kurt is about to talk to his new boss in 3, 2, 1…

“Columbus!”


	2. BED Hair Day

**Step 2 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Make good first impressions or at least rectify the bad ones you’ve accidentally made.**

On his first day of work at Vogue.com, Blaine is decidedly more alert than on the day of his interview. He’s out of bed in a flash and whistles and sings in the shower. When he heads into the kitchen fully dressed and styled thirty minutes later, Wes sends a smirk his way.

“Look who’s awake a good two hours before they have to leave the apartment,” he teases as Blaine grabs a mug from the shelf and pours himself some much-needed coffee (which Wes has thankfully already brewed).

“Shut up,” Blaine says but has to grin. “I got the job, didn’t I?”

“That you did.” Wes shakes his head. “I will never understand how you could choose hair gel over punctuality, though.”

Blaine sits down across from Wes at their small kitchen island. “Well, you know what I look like without it.”

“Yeah.” Wes throws him a look over his newspaper, looking more smartass than ever. “Normal. Good.”

“You’re forgetting broccoli,” Blaine points out. “Seriously, I need my gel, and I still maintain that a little white lie about traffic is less damaging than showing up with bed hair. Especially _my_ bed hair.”

So there wasn’t a technical problem on the subway and the platforms weren’t that crowded, either. He had somehow snoozed his alarm clock one too many times, gotten up in a hurry and chose gelling his hair down over getting to his interview on time.

It doesn’t matter now because he instantly bonded with Isabelle over being from the same area and having the same coffee order, and she told him he was hired about five minutes into the interview.

Still, he doesn’t want to keep running late and making bad impressions, so he put his alarm clock in a corner of his bedroom he can’t reach without getting up.

Wes rolls his eyes. “It’s like watching Hairspray all over again.”

“Link’s hair is on point!” Blaine protests at once.

“His hair is gelled on his head in a musical about hairspray,” Wes argues. “I swear one day you’ll get the lead in that show just because of your shared obsession.” At Blaine’s pout, he adds, “And that tiny bit of talent, I guess. Now, remember to suck up to the people in charge of all the nice suits at Vogue so you can get me the perfect Christmas gift.”

“I shall do my best,” Blaine promises.

Getting a Christmas gift for Wes is the last thing on Blaine’s mind once he arrives at Vogue.com. For starters, Christmas is still weeks away. More importantly, though, he’s preoccupied with finding the meeting place for the new interns in the huge building. When he’s finally found it, he takes his time choosing a good seat and starts doodling in his notebook.

He’s so engrossed in his pastime he doesn’t notice another intern entering the room and only looks up at the soft “oh” he is greeted with.

It’s that guy Blaine sat next to before his interview, the one he apparently annoyed beyond words during their short encounter. Kurt, Blaine remembers.

Well. That’s going to be embarrassing. Blaine has been berating himself for assuming people would find his idiotic rambling friendly or even endearing. Talking has always been his way of dealing with nervousness – but he never knew it might irritate others.

Wes said Blaine was being a pushover again, that Kurt’s behavior was rude and unnecessary, but Wes hadn’t been there. Blaine had been a little too nosy. Kurt had probably thought he was trying to flirt with him, or scaring off the competition on purpose.

“Hi,” Blaine says, careful not to sound too eager this time.

Kurt presses his lips into a small smile that Blaine can’t really read properly. Is it polite, obligatory, friendly…?

“Good morning, Blaine,” Kurt says and sits down on the other side of the table, directly across from Blaine, smile still in place.

Blaine has to hold back a cheer at hearing his name. It’s been a month since the interview. And the guy he kind of started off on the wrong foot with still knows his name. That’s a good sign, right?

Still not wanting to upset the status quo, though, Blaine replies with a simple, “How’s it going?”

“Good, good.” Kurt blinks. “You?”

“Same.”

It’s a short answer, and Blaine has to physically keep himself from talking about the traffic on the way to Vogue, how fantastic his coffee had been this morning or how happy he is they both got an internship. Wow, he really has a problem, doesn’t he? Does he always talk this mindlessly when he isn’t paying attention?

There’s an awkward pause, during which a hint of a blush starts forming on Kurt’s cheeks. Before either of them can say anything else, they’re interrupted by nearing footsteps, and they both turn to the door.

“Ah, Westerville and Lima!” Isabelle Wrights greets them as she steps into the room. “Welcome to Vogue.com! Now, before you think I hired you two because of Ohio favoritism, I can assure you the other three interns are from entirely different parts of the country and another one is from Korea. So don’t worry, you two are here because of your sheer talent, nothing else.” She pauses and looks at each of them with an enthusiastic smile. “In case you haven’t already introduced yourselves – Blaine, this is Kurt Hummel, he’s going to be working in event management and design, and Kurt, this is Blaine Anderson, our public relations intern.”

Kurt and Blaine nod at each other. Kurt’s blush still hasn’t disappeared when the other interns arrive and only does so when Isabelle’s welcome speech slowly turns into an introduction to their specific assignments. Even then, Kurt keeps pulling his bottom lip between his teeth like something is troubling him, and somehow, Blaine has a feeling that he accidentally did something to upset his new colleague yet again.


	3. Third Time's The CHARM

**Step 3 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Make plans to stop being a douchebag chicken idiot and get along with your co-worker.**

The minute Kurt gets home from his first day, he falls onto the couch face-forward and groans.

“Kurt, is that you?”

“Who else would it be?” Kurt asks miserably, turning his face in the cushions so he can at least squint at Rachel, who has just come out from behind her privacy curtain, hair brush raised like a weapon. “Rachel, what-”

She pulls the hair brush to her chest in relief. “Thank god! I thought you were a burglar or a pervert.” She frowns. “Why’d you make that sound? You should be elated. In a first-day haze. Floating on cloud nine.”

“I am,” Kurt says. “Vogue is amazing, working with Isabelle is a dream come true.”

Rachel sits down on the small part of the couch Kurt’s body isn’t crushing. “But?” she asks.

“But I’m an idiot.” Kurt sits up, making more room for her. “Remember how I was kind of a dick to that guy Blaine who came in late for his interview?”

“The guy who you said looks like he actually invented the bowtie look? Sure.”

“That one. Turns out he got an internship too.” Kurt sighs. “I mean, I’m happy he got one but… I feel stupid now. I thought there was only one internship and it turns out they had six spots. _Six_ , Rachel. I felt threatened by him and got bitchy and I was so rude to him… I feel like I’m the worst person alive.”

“Cute,” Rachel teases, “but you won’t grab that title from me. Miss July called me the worst person alive twice this week and it’s only Wednesday.”

Kurt chuckles weakly. “Seriously, though…”

“I don’t get what the problem is.” Rachel nudges him. “You had a bit of a bad start in the city and you were really nervous that day. Just apologize, I’m sure he’ll understand.”

Kurt shakes his head quickly, gets up and starts pacing.

“No, that’s not it, Rachel. I was going to, I really was, I even caught him alone right before our first meeting! But… he was kind of reserved, not at all like he was that day of the interview. And get this – his desk is right next to mine, I’m going to have to sit next to him in awkward silence for the next six months! He barely said a word to me all day, except for when he needed to borrow a pen. I bet he’s really mad. I know I would be if someone basically told me to shut up even though I was being friendly. And then I just chickened out every time I wanted to apologize. I didn’t want to cause a scene on my first day. Ugh, this is so-”

“Kurt.” Rachel gets up too and takes his face between her hands. “Stop. So you two had a bit of a rough start. No biggie, just make sure you actually do apologize. Compliment his bowtie, maybe? And if all else fails, just focus on your work, okay? You’re there for your career, who cares if you don’t get along with your co-workers?”

Kurt twists his mouth into a frustrated grimace. “I guess,” he mumbles. Somehow that last bit of her plan doesn’t quite satisfy him. He wants to get along with Blaine.

But yes, he is going to apologize. He tried twice, he can try again.

After all, they say, third time’s the charm.

-

“Hey, Blaine?”

Blaine glances up from his computer briefly. “Yeah?”

“Um.” Kurt screws his eyes shut. Come on, do it. “I wanted to ap-”

“Kurt!” Isabelle’s voice carries in from the hallway. “Would you mind going over Tuesday’s schedule with me again? I think we need to change that one session from 4 to 5 pm.”

Kurt suppresses a groan.

“Coming!” he calls out.

 _Charm my ass_ , he thinks. _I’m cursed._

“Talk to you later?” he still asks, making sure to send Blaine a smile along with the words.

Blaine nods. “Sure.”

Kurt’s like 97% sure he’s still mad.

The other 3% detect a small upward tug of the corners of Blaine’s lips.


	4. I DARE You

**Step 4 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Stop pretending to be someone you’re not.**

“So then he said, I quote, ‘Talk to you later,’” Blaine rants while slugging down his coffee in between words, “and I’m like, ‘sure,’ and I’m pretty sure I nailed the whole casual thing, but then it never happened! He came back from Isabelle’s, sat down, just kind of glanced at me and pulled up his emails.”

Wes’ head is buried in a stack of newspaper pages again, the only sign of him listening a slight grunt every ten seconds.

“And I’m just sitting there, trying to figure out how to talk to him without making an ass out of myself again but it’s a vicious cycle – what if I accidentally start rambling again?”

“Yeah, I wonder what that would be like,” Wes interjects, voice muffled by the paper.

“They’re probably gonna fire me because I can’t even concentrate on my work properly.” Blaine sighs. “I’ve got like ten more emails to write this morning because I couldn’t get to them yesterday.” He takes another sip of his coffee. “Oh, and then-”

There’s a loud rustling noise as Wes slams the newspaper aside.

“Blaine,” he says sternly, “you have got to stop losing your mind over this. Work’s more important, and you’ll never work in a place where everybody likes you, that’s highly unlikely, probably even statistically impossible. If that guy doesn’t wanna be friends with you, that’s on him. There’s four other interns, right? Be friends with them.” Blaine opens his mouth to say something but Wes shushes him right away and continues, “Now, your problem is that you’re overthinking this. So, I dare you to not think or speak of Kirk or whatever the hell that guy’s name is here in our apartment because it’s just not good to take work problems home with you.”

Blaine wants to protest but Wes’ eyes are fixated on him, eyebrows raised, head tilted. He’s trying to level with him non-verbally now. Blaine has seen him do it before in Warblers rehearsal; it’s his go-to “you all know I’m right” face.

He closes his mouth slowly, blinking at Wes.

Wes doesn’t blink.

Blaine sighs.

Wes smiles proudly – whether he’s proud of himself or of Blaine is unclear.

“It’s Kurt,” Blaine mumbles.

“Blaine!“ Wes groans.

“Sorry, sorry.” Blaine takes a sip of his coffee. “Just clearing that up.”

Wes sets his newspaper aside completely and starts telling him about his pre-law classes at NYU instead. For a while, they discuss Wes’ chances of getting an A from a teacher who has already stated she hasn’t given anyone an A since 1983 (Blaine thinks it’s totally possible because it’s _Wes_ ) before they proceed to more pleasant things like their plans for the night once they’re done with work and classes. But Blaine’s thoughts keep wandering back to how Kurt had started to talk to him and then not seen it through later.

“So, I was thinking we could actually get a Netflix account and watch that show… I forgot the name, something about law and murder, but you know, it would be nice to have something fun to watch involving law because right now, my classes are just brutal, and I need some motivation. Blaine? Hey, Blaine.” Wes snaps his fingers in front of Blaine’s face. “What do you think? Netflix nay or yay?”

“Um, sure, sounds good.” Blaine bites his lip. “Wes, how do I talk to someone without actually being talkative? That’s impossible, right? I mean-”

Wes buries his head in his hands. “I tried so hard,” he whines. “Why, Blaine, why?”

“I’m sorry, I know it’s bad to worry about work stuff at home but this isn’t just work stuff. I’ve heard Kurt talk to Isabelle, he’s actually pretty cool, you know? I’d like to be friends with him. He’s not a jerk, he just somehow hasn’t warmed up to me yet, and I don’t know how to change that without annoying him.”

“That means the dare is off, huh?”

“You didn’t even name any consequences, isn’t that the point of a dare?”

“Shoot, I forgot.” Wes pouts. “I was going to make you do my share of the housework for a month.”

“Ha, you wish.” Blaine grins. “I have to go in, like, five minutes anyway. Just… humor me? I’ve never had this much trouble getting to know someone.”

“Okay, you want my honest opinion?” Wes asks.

“Yes, of course.”

“So far, you’ve apparently annoyed this guy by talking too much, yet now he can’t get to know the real you because you won’t talk to him so as to not annoy him.” Wes sighs. “That’s messed up. I mean, yes, you talk a _lot_ , and sure, it’s a bit annoying at times, but that hasn’t stopped me from being your friend, right? Because I _like_ you. You’re funny and smart and nice and a great friend. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not, maybe _that’s_ the problem.”

Blaine purses his lips in thought.

“Too honest?”

“No,” Blaine says with a grateful smile. “Just right. Thank you, Wes.”

“Anytime, Blaine.” Wes slaps his hand on the table. “Okay, drink up your coffee, go to work and don’t stay late because we’ve got some binge-watching to do.”

Blaine smirks. “You really miss your gavel, don’t you?”

“Bite me, Blaine.”


	5. EARLY Birds

**Step 5 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Make amends.**

Kurt’s still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he turns on his computer in the empty intern office. While he’s not one to run late, he’s also not usually this much of an early bird. He’s got a whole hour until the others arrive. But he needs the time alone to clear out his head (Rachel’s scale-singing in the shower hadn’t been very conducive to the silence he needed), and to actually start planning the small gala Isabelle has scheduled for next month.

He could have gotten on that yesterday, of course, but after that whole thing with Blaine just kind of petered out _,_ and neither of them had tried to reengage in conversation after their interruption, Kurt’s concentration levels had been low.

He’s so frustrated he could eat his keyboard.

Or maybe that’s just his empty stomach talking since he forgot to eat breakfast at the apartment again. It’s a problem. He really needs a routine if he doesn’t want to continue barely surviving the mornings through little visits to the snack machine on the fourth floor.

He’s only getting started with taking notes when a light goes on in the hallway and another intern joins him in the office.

“Oh, hi, Kurt.” Kurt recognizes the voice immediately, even though he hasn’t actually heard it that much in the past days.

“Hi, Blaine,” he replies, eyes flitting from his computer to Blaine and back again in a second. “Early morning as well?”

He notices out of the corner of his eyes how Blaine nods, and then, after a two-second pause, he adds, “Yup, you too?”

“Yeah.”

 _How is this so awkward?_ Kurt thinks. He’s had numerous interesting conversations with the other interns and even talking to his boss is easier than making small talk with Blaine. There’s this barrier in his head that just-

Blaine sighs audibly.

And something in Kurt just snaps.

“I know you must hate me right now but I swear, I am _so_ sorry, beyond sorry, for behaving like I did that first day-”

Kurt stops talking when he suddenly realizes that Blaine has started speaking in a fast, nervous pace at the very same time.

“-it’s just so hard for me to _not_ talk, you know? I’m not sure if that means we can’t be friends, or friend _ly_ , at least, or- or something, but I am the way I am and if you don’t like who I am, then I guess I can’t do anything about it, even though I’d really like to, you know, actually enjoy working beside you every day for the next few months and maybe if you just tried to get to know me you’d just know that talking too much is not everything there is to my persona-” Blaine suddenly frowns like he remembered there was something else and squints at Kurt. “Wait, what?”

Kurt can’t help but literally gape at him.

“You… you think I don’t like you because you talk too much?” he asks.

“But… you do,” Blaine says, eyes widening almost comically. “You said you didn’t want to chit-chat.”

“Oh god,” Kurt groans softly. ”You do think I’m an asshole.”

“No! No, I don’t.” Blaine bites his lip. “I guess I would understand if you thought I was annoying, I mean, I was being a bit overbearing and not shutting up and all that.”

“But I don’t think you’re annoying,” Kurt protests softly, feeling self-conscious. He knew he came across as unfriendly, and he knows it’s not entirely wrong to assume that he’s rude on occasion, but downright mean? “I’ve been trying to apologize to you ever since I snapped at you but then I kept getting interrupted… and you’ve been kind of offhand with me ever since we started this job, so I thought you were mad.”

“You thought _I_ was mad?” Blaine asks, his face the very definition of incredulous with his eyebrows raised in alarm and his mouth a little slack. “I really wasn’t. I was scared you’d be mad at _me_.”

Kurt closes his eyes and lets relief wash over him.

“I really didn’t intend to sound that mean the first day,” Kurt admits. “I was worried about not getting the job and you looked so _good_ with your suit and bowtie, like you’d fit in here perfectly, which you obviously do. And I got a little competitive… and if we’d actually talked a bit more by now, you’d know that competitive Kurt can be very, very stupid. So stupid in fact, that he wouldn’t even consider the possibility of there being several internship positions people might have applied for.”

Blaine’s entire demeanor changes during Kurt’s confession. First, he blushes – and Kurt blames the fact that he just called his co-worker good-looking on how heartfelt his apology had been – and then he starts smiling and chuckling in a way Kurt hasn’t seen him before.

“You know,” Blaine says as he ducks his head in a happy, appreciative gesture, “just so you know, if we had actually talked that day I would have told you there was no reason to be nervous because you looked like you were born to work here.”

Kurt lets out a shaky breath at that. “So we’re good?”

“More than good.”

“Thank god,” Kurt says. “So… now that we’ve established that nobody is mad at anyone, would you care for a morning snack? I’m not exactly a morning person so I forget to eat on a regular basis and I’m afraid my grumbling stomach might distract us both from working.”

Blaine smiles brightly.

“Or,” he says, pulling out a lunch box. “I could share my turkey sandwich with you as a peace offering?”

Kurt mouth actually starts to water when Blaine opens the box to reveal a delicious-looking sandwich and tears it in two to give Kurt half of it.

“Blaine,” he says, already reaching out for the treat, “I have a feeling this is going to be a beautiful friendship.”


	6. FAIR Is FAIR

**Step 6 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Settle into a comfortable routine and enjoy the occasional surprise.**

Blaine goes home that night with a spring in his step and a smile on his face.

Wes almost destroys the remote control when he throws it at Blaine for being such an idiot but misses him and hits the wall instead. Blaine only shrugs with that same doofus smile plastered on his face and gets comfy next to Wes on the couch.

And over the next few days, the smile only continues to grow.

Sitting next to Kurt at work finally becomes a pleasant part of his day worthy of looking forward to instead of silent torture. Kurt is smart and witty, and actually talks just as much as Blaine when given the right topic to discuss. Blaine doesn’t think he even said a single word when Kurt went off on a 10-minute tangent about Project Runway and all the pros and cons of watching that show as an aspiring designer.

Now, when they get lunch with the other interns, they sit together and discuss the assignments they get from Isabelle respectively, the Broadway buzz Kurt gets from his roommate Rachel or whatever else there is to talk about – and there is _so_ much. It feels good to finally be able to just say whatever comes to mind and not filter everything. It feels good to have a close friend at work.

Early mornings with breakfast become sort of a thing for them. Blaine still shares his sandwich with Kurt because he apparently did not lie about not having the presence of mind to eat in the morning. Which is why Blaine is beyond surprised when Kurt brings food to work one morning.

It’s about a week after their reconciliation (if that even is the right word – Blaine refuses to call their misunderstanding a fight), and Blaine is just about to get out his lunch box in anticipation of Kurt’s arrival when Kurt’s sing-song voice announces, “Surpriiiise!”

He sets down a huge box of baked goods on Blaine’s desk and immediately rolls his desk chair closer to Blaine’s so that they can both reach the box. Blaine likes to think the pleasant shiver down his spine is from the fruity smell of the muffins and not from the way Kurt’s hand accidentally brushes his arm as he goes to open the box.

“Home-made breakfast is on me today,” Kurt says as he unceremoniously takes a bite of what looks and smells like a perfectly soft, delicious banana scone.

“Kurt,” Blaine says in wonder, shaking his head. “How do you not eat breakfast but find the time to bake in the morning?”

Kurt laughs. “I didn’t bake this today, I did it yesterday.”

“When? You stayed late to finish that draft of your first Vogue design.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t all that satisfied with it, so I had to take my mind off things.”

Blaine makes a face. “When I need to take my mind off things, I watch TV with Wes or take a walk. You turn your kitchen into a professional bakery. I’m impressed.”

“You haven’t even tried it yet,” Kurt points out and hands Blaine a muffin. “It might be horrible.”

Blaine takes a bite of the muffin, and his first thought that if he died right now, he wouldn’t have a single regret.

“Oh my god, raspberry is my favorite,” he gushes.

“I know. I was going to make blueberry muffins at first but then I remembered.”

“Wait, how could you possibly know that?” Blaine asks, looking up from the heavenly muffin for a second. “The subject of favorite fruit hasn’t come up yet, if I remember correctly.”

“Well, um, no, but there were hints.” Kurt points to Blaine’s hair. “Your hair gel smells like raspberry. Or your shampoo.” He grins a little lopsidedly. “But I doubt the shampoo scent would carry over that much additional product, so it must be the gel.”

When Wes jokes about his hair gel, Blaine protests. But Wes never makes him muffins based on what his hair gel smells like and Blaine doubts he even _knows_ its exact scent despite having hugged Blaine countless times.

Kurt hasn’t hugged Blaine once but still here they are – raspberry muffins for Blaine baked by Kurt just because he remembered the scent.

“Kurt…” Blaine says. “I- thank you.”

As touched as he is, he is also a little panicked. Either his hair gel is really noticeable from a distance and Wes has a very underdeveloped sense of smell, or Kurt’s nose is hypersensitive or downright magical – which means that either way, Blaine can never, ever skip a shower, leave the house without deodorant or eat garlic or onions on his pizza during lunch while he works next to Kurt.

Oh, well, at least he’ll have raspberry muffins.

“No need to thank me,” Kurt says quickly. “I had a lot to make up for, so…”

Now Blaine does protest. “You did not,” he says. “You didn’t have to do any of this for me, it’s all good.”

“I know,” Kurt interjects. “It’s not for the… misunderstanding. It’s for the sandwiches.”

Blaine tilts his head. “I thought you were just baking away your frustrations?” he asks, teasing slightly. It’s not like he’s upset Kurt is baking for him. In fact, he is delighted. It’s delicious and a nice gesture. Plus, it has Kurt blushing a bit and that also just kinda _looks_ nice.

“Well, yeah, that too.” Kurt shrugs. “But I figured since you basically kept me alive every morning for the past week, I should reciprocate. You know, fair is fair.”

Blaine has to laugh at that. “You call that _reciprocating_?!” He points at the box. “This is worth, like, a hundred sandwiches. A thousand, probably. You do know I just kinda grab whatever’s in the fridge, right? I don’t put a lot of thought into those.”

“Aw, and there goes the mystery of why you shifted from turkey to chicken the other day.” Kurt bites his lip into a smile, obviously pleased that his surprise is such a success. “I just really felt like doing this, don’t question it. Just accept the gift, okay?”

Grabbing a scone from the box, Blaine says, “Oh, I accept it. But I’m gonna give you something in return.”

“You don’t have to-”

“Fair is fair,” Blaine reminds him.

Kurt rolls his eyes. “We’ll be giving each other stuff back and forth by that logic.”

“Yeah, just like Christmas.” Blaine perks up and grabs Kurt’s arm in excitement. “Christmas every day!”

“What are you, five years old?”

Blaine laughs. “Old enough to not be reprimanded for finishing this whole box of deliciousness within the next ten minutes.”

He’s almost too distracted by how amazing the batch of brownies tastes to notice Kurt pinning a note to his corkboard that says, _Note to self: No more cookies for Blaine._

“Hey, unfair!”


	7. GUESS What

**Step 7 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Get used to the fact that your employers and co-workers probably think they know everything about you.**

Kurt has come to fall in love with his new job.

It’s not just the work itself, though Kurt really appreciates the opportunity to plan and organize events for a living, wearing a headset and looking important and getting a glimpse behind the scenes of a fashion magazine. Most of all, it’s the people he’s working with.

There is Isabelle, who he can’t help but dub his personal fairy godmother. He already knew she was fashionable and a marketing genius but the interviews and articles he read did not manage to capture how incredibly nice she would be in person. Sometimes, they don’t stop talking even after hours, and she’s probably really more of a friend rather than Kurt’s boss.

Despite being an overall busy bunch, everyone else higher up in the hierarchy than Kurt is just as nice to him as Isabelle is, and even though he’s an intern, he seems to be welcome everywhere he turns.

Heck, he’s even grown fond of Mandy, the scary receptionist.

The other interns are nice as well. Granted, he doesn’t really converse much with the two HR interns, as they often have meetings and don’t work much in the intern office, but they are easy enough to talk to. The editorial interns, Jen and Iseul, are very laid back and cool to be around. They’re always eager to learn about PR, event management and design from Blaine and Kurt, and share their own stories in return.

And then, of course, there’s Blaine. Rocky start notwithstanding, things have been going stellar. Kurt is absolutely over the moon to work side by side with someone who shares so many of his interests, is so genuinely down to earth and attentive. While he’s often incredibly busy preparing press releases or single-handedly managing an escalation in the Facebook comments of a particular article, he’s never _too_ busy to do little things to make Kurt smile, like send him an email with a funny picture of a dog when Kurt’s stressed or offer his feedback on Kurt’s designs.

Talking things through with Blaine has become such a core part of Kurt’s work routine that he momentarily finds himself at a loss when Blaine calls in sick one morning. He doesn’t find out until two hours into his rather lonely morning, when he overhears two PR employees talk about Blaine’s unfortunate cold.

“Hey, uhm, Kurt is it, right?” one of the two addresses Kurt as he passes. “Can you give me Blaine’s number?”

Kurt stops on his way to Isabelle’s. “Uh, what?”

“I need to let him know not to worry about the big meeting tomorrow. He’s probably going to drag himself out of bed no matter the shape he’s in. But I’ve already got everything I need, he’s just going to wish he stayed home, and I know I put his personal contact info _somewhere_ but my desk is a mess with all these approaching deadlines…”

“Oh.” Kurt scratches his neck. “I, uh, don’t actually have his number.”

“Geez.” The man frowns. “Well, if _you_ don’t have his number, I don’t know who would.”

Kurt blinks, a little confused, and smiles apologetically. “Sorry.” He looks down at the papers in his hand and adds, “I was going to bring these to Isabelle… I could ask her?”

“Great idea!” the man says. “Do that, I’ll be in my office. 501.”

“Got it.”

“Thank you, Kurt.”

“Anytime.” Kurt turns on his heels and shakes his head to himself. Are Blaine and he really seen hanging out with one another so often that people turn to him first to contact Blaine? Dumbfounded, Kurt sticks his head through the intern office.

“Hey Iseul, Jen?” he asks. They both look up from their work with raised eyebrows. “Hypothetically speaking, if you did not know where Blaine was or how to contact him, whom would you ask for information?”

They share a short look before turning back to Kurt.

Jen says, “You.”

“Duh,” Iseul adds with a shrug.

“Huh.” Kurt nods slowly. “Thanks.”

He’s surprised but he kind of likes the thought of being half of a well-known work friendship. It’s very movie-like, he thinks, as he walks to Isabelle’s office.

Her door is open and she’s got her back to Kurt, holding two different dresses and examining them in the light shining through her window. Kurt can’t fathom how he used to believe her office was actually a small temple – it’s just an office like everybody else’s in the building, elegant yet simple.

He softly knocks on the doorframe.

“Oh, Kurt, there you are,” Isabelle says, waving him in. “Say, which one do you think is better for attending an opera?”

Kurt considers them both for a few seconds before nodding to the right.

“The silver one,” he says. “Very elegant but enough material so you won’t get cold during the performance.”

“I see, smart choice.” She nods in agreement. “I like that.” She hangs the dresses back on the rack before turning back to Kurt. “Tell me, did you contact the catering service for our fashion show next week?”

“Yep.” He hands over the papers. “This is the estimate of costs they emailed.”

She reads it over quickly, pulling a face every now and then.

“Well, that used to be much cheaper back when I started out here. But book it anyway, they make good food and we’re not very likely to find better options in this part of the city.”

“Great, I’ll forward the invoice once it’s done.”

“Thank you, Kurt!”

“Don’t mention it. Uh, while I’m here, I was wondering if you could retrieve Blaine’s personal number for me? He’s-”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Isabelle interrupts with a wide grin, already rummaging in her file cabinet. “I mean, I don’t usually give out my interns’ numbers but you’re always attached at the hip anyway and-”

“It’s for work,” Kurt says quickly, face burning. God, does Isabelle think…?

“Well, that’s mildly disappointing,” she replies with a wink.

Suddenly this whole movie-like office friendship doesn’t seem quite as appealing. Does the whole office think Blaine and he are… an item? Or sleeping together? Is that why they assume he’s the one to ask for Blaine’s number and whereabouts?

Taking a deep breath, Kurt ignores Isabelle’s last remark. Still blushing, he explains, “Blaine called in sick and they need his contact in PR so he won’t come in tomorrow to try and save the day.”

“In true Blaine fashion.” Isabelle shakes her head with a fond smile. “He’s a good one, that Blaine.”

“I…” Of course he’s a good one but what does it _mean_ if Kurt agrees? He gulps and finally settles for, “Yeah… I guess.”

“I made you uncomfortable,” she observes. Kurt opens his mouth to speak but she is quick to add, “No, don’t say anything. I’m sorry. That was unprofessional. I just assumed, and you know what they say about assuming.”

Kurt can’t help but smile. “That you shouldn’t?”

“A Gilmore Girls fan!” Isabelle gasps. “Now you _need_ to forgive me. Pleeeease?” She pouts. “I need someone to debate the series finale with.”

“All forgiven,” Kurt promises. “Just… make sure to take pictures when you wear that dress to the opera.”

“Will do.” Isabelle smiles at him. “Now, be on your way, these damn fashion shows don’t plan themselves.”

Kurt steps out and leans against the hallway wall for a second, willing himself not to look down on the paper he’s holding.

 _You totally are not copying Blaine’s number from there_ , he tells himself. _That would be weird. And only adding to the rumors. You’re taking this straight to 501 and then you’ll finish this work and write Blaine an email to wish him a speedy recovery._

Kurt continues his way to PR and doesn’t second-guess his decision until he’s on the elevator.

_Will Blaine even check his emails when he’s sick? Maybe a text would be better. And it’s not a big deal, is it? Who cares what the office thinks? He’s my friend._

He’s changed his mind about seven times in the short way from the elevator to office 501. He’s seconds away from actually knocking when he sighs to himself, looks around to check if there’s anyone in the hallway to observe him, and pulls out his cellphone.

He copies the number quickly, pockets his phone, and delivers the number to the PR guy, who, thankfully, does not offer any additional commentary.

Back in the intern’s office, he stares at the phone number for a long while, debating whether he should text Blaine. But it would be even weirder not to use it now that he has it, and quite frankly, he can’t even figure out why it takes him such a long time to make such a simple decision. It’s not like he’s asking Blaine to elope and move to Timbuktu, he just wants to check in with him and see how he’s holding up.

After another ten minutes, he finally presses send on a text.

_Guess what?! Apparently, we’re the new Lorelai and Sookie of the office. The Turk and J.D., the Sam and Frodo, the Elphie and Glinda. You disappear (how are you??? When are you coming back? Do you need soup? Get better soon!) and I’m your go-to! You know, that person who needs to be able to answer all those questions I just asked. You know what that means: we have status! Anyway, here’s my number in case the roles are reversed one of these days and you want to be better prepared than I was._

By the time his phone buzzes with a reply, he’s booked a caterer and looked into proper decoration for the venue.

**… Kurt?**

Kurt almost facepalms. Yeah, he could have probably included his name somewhere in the message. Then again…

_Well, now I’m hurt. Do you have another Sookie or Glinda on the side?_

**So this is Kurt, yeah? Blaine’s out like a light. This is Wes, his roommate. His mother has been calling every ten minutes, and someone from work too, so I’m manning his phone.**

This time, Kurt does facepalm. There’s a reason why people include names in their first message to an unknown number.

_Oh, right. Sorry for bothering you/him. Is he okay?_

**No, you’re good! Stomach bug. He’ll be fine, though.**

_Okay, thanks for the update. Tell him I said hi once he wakes up!_

**Sure thing! Whoops, gotta go, I accidentally hung up on Pam Anderson, rookie mistake.**

_Good luck with that! (I’m assuming Blaine’s mom is calling and not the cast of Baywatch)_

There’s no immediate answer so Kurt figures Wes is busy playing Blaine’s secretary. Sighing, he puts the phone aside. He can’t wait for Blaine to come back and just be there in person.


	8. HELLO, Stranger

**Step 8 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Play along when your co-worker disguises his private phone call as a work-related emergency.**

“Ugggghh.”

Blaine barely manages to open his eyes. Everything is bright and uncomfortable.

“You are in the House of Elrond, and it is ten o’clock in the morning, on October the 24th, if you want to know,” the voice of someone trying to imitate a much deeper voice pipes up.

He blinks one sleepy eye open. “What?”

“Nooo, your line is, ‘Gandalf!’” Wes says, hitting Blaine on the arm playfully. “I’m just messing with you ‘cause you look like Frodo after getting stabbed by the Nazgul blade.” Blaine goes back to just lying there with his eyes closed. He can still feel Wes leaning over him, though. “Or almost being devoured by Shelob. Take your pick.”

“Don’t you have law classes to attend, you poor excuse for a friend?” Blaine croaks, opening his eyes again and sending Wes his best death stare (that’s probably more him looking dead and not dead _ly_ ).

Wes presses a hand to his heart. “You wound me, Blaine. I took the day off just for you.” He rolls his eyes. “Well, your mom made me.”

“My mom called?”

“Yeah, like a hundred times. Oh, and your good friend Samwise was very worried about you, too.”

Blaine frowns. “Who?”

“Remember, you’re Frodo in this scenario.”

Blaine looks up at the ceiling. “You were worried about me?”

Wes grins. “Aw, Blaine, I’m touched. But no, the other Samwise. Apparently, you’re the Sam to his Frodo, the Lorelai to his Sookie, the Elphaba to your Glinda…” When Blaine still just gives him a blank stare, Wes grins only widens. “You know… your office crush.”

“You talked to _Kurt_?!” Blaine sits up faster than his sickly state should allow and he feels it in all of his bones at once. “Ouch. When did you talk to him? Was he _here_?!”

“He texted yesterday afternoon. And yes, you have slept since then, otherwise I would have notified you sooner. It was really cute, though, he thought I was you for, like, two texts and-”

“Oh my god, give me my phone!”

“But I’m having fun!” Wes waves the phone in front of Blaine’s face before pulling it back. “We could prank call Kurt and- aaaah, no, no, no!!!”

Blaine managed to take Wes by surprise, grabbing him by his very ticklish sides and making him let the phone go. It lands to Blaine’s left on the bed. He releases Wes quickly to hide the phone under his blanket.

Wes grumbles how it is really unfair to be thanked this way but leaves the room to let Blaine talk to Kurt – under the condition that he won’t have to deal with Blaine’s mom anymore.

Once he’s alone, Blaine goes through the messages Kurt has sent and the ones Wes has replied with, sighing in relief when he realizes Wes hadn’t been inappropriate at all.

He changes the contact name from “Samwise <3” to “Kurt” and reads the first message again with a smile before pressing the call button.

It takes five rings for Kurt to pick up, and Blaine almost drops the call when he realizes Kurt must be at work, but as soon as he considers it, they’re connected.

“Kurt Hummel?”

“Hello, str-” That could have sounded cool but Blaine’s interrupted by a sudden coughing fit. “Um. Sorry. Let me try that again – hello, stranger.”

Kurt makes a humming sound. “I understand, sir, but I’m afraid we cannot offer refunds for the gala tickets since they are personalized.”

“What?”

“Of course. One second.” Kurt clears his throat and whispers, “Excuse me, it’s urgent.” Then, clearer, “Yes, sir, I will look that up for you, there are great hotels in the area.”

“Kurt, I can call you later if you’re busy,” Blaine says, finally catching on. “I’ll just hang up, yeah?”

There’s a beat of silence before Kurt hisses, “Don’t you leave me hanging now, I just got out of the most boring meeting ever, and your call was an answer to my prayers, I’m sure of it.”

Blaine laughs. “Well, in that case, I’ll be the most obnoxious and inquisitive customer ever.”

“Really?” Kurt sounds hopeful. “One of those who will ask so many questions that I will miss at least another half hour of the meeting?”

“When does your meeting end?”

“In… about half an hour. What a coincidence.”

“Then absolutely, yes,” Blaine promises. “I’ll probably need half an hour to decide on a hotel and ask you questions about the venue.”

“And that’s why you’re my favorite,” Kurt sighs.

Blaine beams at his blanket at Kurt’s words. “I do what I can.”

“I know.” There’s a loud squeaking sound that Blaine recognizes as Kurt’s office chair casters. “When are you coming back? It’s boring when you’re not here.”

“Well, I’m a bit better but it’ll be at least another day… sorry.”

“Pfff. Nothing to be sorry for.” Kurt clicks his tongue. “So, did Wes tell you I texted? I’m a bit upset he never confirmed or denied my assumption about Pam Anderson.”

Blaine chuckles. “Yeah, she gets that a lot.”

“That’s not an answer.” Kurt gasps. “Wait, is this your way of subtly avoiding the question?! Is your mom _the_ Pam Anderson?”

“No, Kurt.”

“Phew.” Blaine can almost see Kurt grin that cute toothy smile. “Because if you had actual actors in your family and didn’t tell me about it, I’d be seriously mad at you.”

Blaine wants to reassure him that, no, there are no actors in his family, but then again, technically speaking…

“Uh, well, you probably wouldn’t know him but-”

“Blaine, no…”

Blaine laughs. “Do you happen to know those really annoying but horribly catchy FreeCreditRating.com commercials?”

“Uh, speak for yourself, those are amazing,” Kurt tells him in a mockingly lofty voice. “But what do- wait, a second.”

“Yeah.”

“No!” Kurt breathes out.

“That’s my brother. Cooper Anderson.”

There’s a loud clicking sound in Blaine’s ear, followed by a squeal that sounds a bit far away.

“Kurt?” Blaine asks. “Kurt, did you just throw your phone on the desk to freak out? Is that seriously your reaction to my brother being in a mediocre commercial?”

“Ah, well.” Kurt lets out a wistful sigh. “Let’s just say that commercial made teenage Kurt feel things he’s never felt before.”

“Oh my god, what?!” Blaine pinches his nose. “We are not having this conversation right now.”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” Kurt says quickly.

“Are you sure?” There’s a jingle in the background that Blaine recognizes. “Wait, are you _watching_ it right now? Ugh, god dammit.” He never does not sing along to that one part. It’s impossible. _“Slash saviiiings!_ ”

Kurt laughs. “Hey, is he really your brother?”

“The one and only.”

“You have the same eyes.” Kurt’s voice has gone soft and a bit distant. “They’re beautiful.”

Blaine’s mouth closes around the dismissive answer he was going to give. He usually denies any connection at all costs but… Kurt basically just called his eyes beautiful.

“Oh, yeah,” he says instead, gulping. “We get them from our mom, I guess.”

“Mh. Um, well.” Kurt sounds like he’s momentarily tuned out of their conversation. “So, how’s Wes?”

Blaine’s torn. He kind of wants to continue down the path the conversation was going but he also welcomes the change of topic to something… safer.

“Same old, same old. Grumpy, basically. How’s Rachel?”

“I barely see her. She’s busy not failing her dance class and making out with the TA.”

“Smart strategy,” Blaine jokes.

“Ha!” Kurt chuckles. “Oh, actually, you won’t believe what she told me about her teacher!”

Blaine listens to Kurt’s gossiping for a while, asks him about work and how everyone is doing. Conversation flows just as easily as it does when they talk in person but Blaine wishes he could see Kurt’s eyes dance with mirth as he recounts the lovely dress pants he drew inspiration from for his next design.

“So we’re well-known work buddies now, huh?” Blaine says when Kurt recounts the story of how he came to obtain Blaine’s number.

“That’s one way to put it.” Kurt laughs. “It sounded more like they thought we were dating.”

Blaine bites his lip and picks at his bedspread. “Your text should have said that we’re Jim and Pam, then. Or… Harry and Sally!”

“Aw, I love that movie! Oh, wait a second.” There’s a muffled sound as Kurt apparently puts down the phone. “Hey, Blaine, I gotta go, the meeting’s over and I do have some work to do.”

“All good things must come to an end.”

Kurt hums in agreement. “Hey, get better soon, yeah? This was fun but I miss you here.”

“I- I miss you, too. I’ll hurry up, I promise.”

“Good. Yes.” Kurt suddenly switches to his professional tone again, and Blaine hears voices in the background. “Of course I will forward the information immediately.”

Blaine laughs. “Smooth.”

“Can I do anything else for you, sir, or will that be all?” Kurt asks.

“Uh, actually, I could use a bowl of that soup you offered,” Blaine jokes.

“Alright, thank you for calling. Have a good day now.”

“Bye, Kurt.”

“Bye!”

Blaine only realizes once Kurt has hung up that he didn’t deny Wes’ earlier claim that Kurt was his office crush. On the contrary, he only knew it was Kurt _after_ Wes talked about his crush. And after that phone conversation… well, Blaine’s not in any position to deny it.

He’s crushing on his co-worker. Hard.


	9. I.M.P.A.C.T.

**Step 9 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Don’t make it a habit to skip meetings (or hope for an understanding boss).**

Kurt only barely refrains from marking the day of his favorite co-worker’s return in his calendar, and also from throwing a party in his honor. He does bake another batch of raspberry muffins to welcome Blaine back to Vogue.com, and he takes extra delight in Blaine’s excited bounce when he finds the familiar box on his desk.

Their reunion is cut somewhat short by the fact that Kurt has a long day of event meetings ahead of him as Isabelle is planning a charity event for next year, and it involves negotiating with potential sponsors, discussing high-profile acts and possible venues.

He takes a last bite of his raspberry muffin and sets the rest aside for later. He starts getting up, grabbing his folder, notepad and a pen in the process.

“Nooo, don’t leave me so soon!”

Kurt shrugs. When Blaine doesn’t stop pouting, he sighs.

“Sorry but today’s schedule is really tight. It’s gonna be brutal. I might not even have time for lunch. Anyway, gotta go.”

“But lunch is when you spend time with your best work buddy!” Blaine calls after him. “The office will think we’ve split up! Think of the gossip, Kurt!”

Kurt laughs but doesn’t turn around. While Blaine’s been recovering, they’ve called each other several times and eventually started making fun of their work relationship – or rather the lack thereof, which has apparently disappointed just about everyone in the office. Kurt’s glad they can joke about it now. He was afraid Blaine would take it all very seriously and think Kurt was actually interested.

Which would not be that far from the truth, but Kurt hasn’t let himself think about that too much. They’ve _just_ become such good friends, adding a crush would probably jeopardize that. Who knows if he even is Blaine’s type? Kurt is not exactly eager to deal with inevitable heartbreak at his workplace, he can’t handle that. Having fun with a friend? That much he can do.

Fun is not what awaits him in the conference room, though. A big sponsor apparently cancelled last minute and the other sponsors won’t donate anywhere near as much, which means that their event is now hanging by a thread. Though Isabelle is all smiles whenever a donation is confirmed, Kurt can see she is worried about the gala.

He’s fully engaged in the meeting for the first two hours but as they’re approaching lunch time, he can feel himself starting to lose focus. Most donors have very detailed requests of how to represent their product at the charity, and since Kurt doesn’t have the authority to negotiate these things, he can’t contribute much anyway. When he checks his phone for the time twice in one minute, he decides to keep himself awake by texting Blaine.

_This is boring. Help._

**Aw, that sucks. No lunch then?**

_I’m not too positive. I wish I could go, though. I’m starving._

**For a good conversation with your best buddy Blaine? (BBB, I’m making this a thing)**

_For food, actually, but I guess I wouldn’t mind the BBB company, either._

**:) I’ll wait until you get out of your meeting to get lunch.**

Kurt smiles down at his phone. Alright, he can do this, he thinks as he sends a quick thank-you message and pockets his phone to listen to another proposal.

An hour later, the sponsors have gone but the committee can’t seem to reach a consensus on how to proceed. Kurt thinks he feels his stomach eat itself at one point.

His phone vibrates.

**Still nothing?**

_I’m sorry, no. Go ahead if you wanna eat. I’ll visit the snack machine during the next break. Or I’ll starve. Whatever comes first._

**I’ve got a better idea.**

_You do???_

**I could be a customer, like last time…**

_Oh my god, how come I didn’t think of that?_

**So you’re in?**

_I feel a bit guilty but my hunger wins this one. I’m in, hit me up._

His phone rings a few seconds later. He glances at the committee apologetically before indicating that he needs to take the call.

“Rescue squad, how may I assist you?” Blaine’s cheery voice rings through the line.

Kurt takes a few seconds to think his approach through and responds with, “Ma’am, I’m sorry, I’m at a meeting, could you- no, I understand. Yes, that is certainly troubling. I could- Isabelle, is it okay if I?”

Isabelle nods immediately. “Go ahead,” she says with a smile and Kurt slips out the door as fast as humanly possible. As soon as he’s out of earshot, he starts running down the hallway.

“Oh my god, you’re a _lifesaver_!” he calls out as soon as he finds Blaine in the office. “I cannot thank you enough.”

Blaine laughs as he grabs his Vogue ID. “Lunch?”

“Yes, please, and fast, I can’t be gone for too long.”

As they walk down the hall, Blaine suddenly links his arm with Kurt’s and tells him, “By the way, I thought up a name for this game.”

“Uh.” Kurt stares ahead and gulps. Blaine’s arm is around his arm. Aside from the casual welcome-back hug this morning, this is more physical contact than they’ve ever had. And Kurt has no idea what _game_ Blaine might be referring to. “What?”

“You know, the emergency call thing.”

“Oh. That game.”

“Yeah. You know, we need a code word for this. And I thought – _I.M.P.A.C.T._ ”

Kurt thinks it’s safe to look at Blaine now, though his arm is still burning where they’re touching and he’s still feeling sort of tingly in his stomach, and he’s pretty sure it’s not because he’s hungry.

“Impact? I don’t get it.”

“It’s an acronym. **I** mproving **M** eetings through **P** hone **A** cts: **C** all for **T** ruancy!” Blaine grins. “What do you think?”

Kurt sniggers. “Seriously? I’m judging you right now.”

“Come on, I think I could be onto something here. Like, a goldmine, actually. Just think if I were to professionalize my talents as a phone con!”

Kurt opens the door to the cafeteria. “Blaine, you need lunch. I think you’re hallucinating.”

“But I got you out of a meeting twice. I’m a total success!” Blaine untangles their arms, grabs a tray and a plate that he passes to Kurt and then another set for himself. “And… you can’t deny the _impact_ it has had on your mood.” He waggles his eyebrows at Kurt. “Right?”

Kurt sighs dramatically. “You are ridiculous,” he sing-song. His phone signals a new message. “Oh, I got a text.” He pauses and grabs Blaine’s arm. “Oh my god. Isabelle totally knows I’m skipping right now. Kill me, Blaine.”

“Wait, what?” Blaine stops shoving potato salad on his plate and looks over Kurt’s shoulder to read the text out loud. “ _Bring me back a bagel, will you? ;) – IW_ ”

Kurt throws his head back and throws the ceiling a miserable look. “There you have your impact! I’m gonna get fired!”

Blaine lightly pats his back. “On the upside, though,” he says and Kurt can hear the shit-eating grin in his voice even though they don’t make eye contact, “no more meetings. And I’m gonna split half of the profit with you once my I.M.P.A.C.T. business starts paying the big bucks.”

Kurt just huffs and gets himself some salad as well.

“Wait, are you actually worried?” Blaine asks, a crease suddenly appearing between his brows as he looks at Kurt with actual concern. “I mean, there was a winky face. She’s totally cool with it, otherwise she wouldn’t have done that. And if she’s not… I’m just gonna tell her it’s my fault. And it really is my fault, anyway. You were just coerced into this. Seriously.”

When Kurt doesn’t say anything, Blaine only starts rambling more. “Come on, Kurt, smile! You’re getting the lunch you deserve and nobody would ever, ever fire you. I mean, you’re probably the best intern they’ve ever had.” There’s a pause when Blaine laughs nervously. “You’re not mad at me for making you agree to this, are you?”

Kurt stays silent for another second, then he starts shaking his head and laughing at the same time. He almost loses the grip on his tray but Blaine catches it, still looking a bit apprehensive.

“Blaine, the only way I’m gonna be mad at you and your unfair adorableness,” Kurt says, grinning at his friend whom he’s absolutely head over heels with, no matter how you look at it, “is if you keep blocking my path to those bagels I need to win my boss’s trust back.”


	10. A Brand New JOURNEY

**Step 10 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Get to know your co-worker better. Preferably outside of work. If you manage to actually ask him.**

Slow days at work are Blaine’s favorite. PR is usually quite busy but today his job doesn’t require him to do much besides circulate announcements to the relevant media outlets.

Blaine is about to click “send” on an email to the press regarding the upcoming winter collection fashion show when Kurt saunters into the office with a happy sigh.

Blaine lazily turns his desk chair to face him and can’t help but immediately return the wide, easy smile on Kurt’s face.

“So?” he asks, hopeful.

“She’s overjoyed!” Kurt says immediately, holding his fist out for Blaine to bump it. It’s a completely uncharacteristic move for Kurt but he looks so adorable doing it that Blaine complies without comment. “She told me to thank you about a million times.”

Blaine waves him off. “Ah, I didn’t do much.”

It’s been a week since Kurt snuck out to lunch with Blaine. As a way to make it up to Isabelle, he brought back the requested bagel _and_ coffee for the whole committee.

Needless to say, neither of them was fired. Instead, Isabelle joined them for a regularly scheduled lunch the day after and to their amusement told them the story of how she once escaped a meeting by hiding behind a clothing rack and slowly wheeling it out of the room.

The lunch also gave Blaine the opportunity to offer some help regarding the deficit in funding for the charity event, a plan which he has since put into motion. Today was the day Kurt discussed the first results with Isabelle.

“You mean besides saving the event?” Kurt asks with a beam, sits down at his desk and turns on his computer. “Single-handedly, I might add?”

“Oh, come on, all I did was ask the school board at Dalton to forward the call for donations to their sponsors and the PTA.”

Kurt rolls his eyes. “You came up with the plan, you took action and you proved to be great at PR. Take a compliment, will you?”

Blaine ducks his head. “Alright, alright. Thanks. I’m glad I could help.”

“Isabelle’s going to hug you the next time she sees you. Just warning you in advance.” Kurt punches in his password and turns in his chair to look at Blaine. “I can’t _believe_ you went to Dalton Academy.”

Once Blaine communicated his plan to Kurt, Kurt told him the story of how he almost went to Dalton himself to get away from a horribly homophobic and closeted tormentor at McKinley High, but couldn’t because of money issues in the family. Blaine only barely resisted engulfing Kurt in a tight hug, but somehow Kurt looked like he didn’t exactly want or need a hug in that moment, with his clenched jaw and the fierce look in his eyes. He had gotten over the bullying on his own. Though he told his story with pride, Blaine saw a little chink in the armor that suggested it had probably been a lonely and painful journey to recovery.

After all, Blaine knows a little something about those journeys.

When he shared his own story in turn, Kurt had a similar look on his face, like his heart was breaking for scared, broken Blaine. But even though Blaine knows deep down that the emotional scars will never quite heal as well as the physical ones, he assured Kurt that he was fine.

And he is, really. The way he sees it, now that he’s in New York, he gets to go on a brand new journey. So far, it’s been going great – he’s got a great apartment that he shares with his best friend, he likes his internship and hopes for a spot at NYU come spring semester and… well, finally having someone worth crushing on in his life isn’t the worst feeling in the world, either.

Blaine shakes the thought off lest he start daydreaming _about_ Kurt in _front_ of Kurt, and tilts his head as he considers the comment about Dalton.

“Well, do you think we would have become friends back then, too?” he asks. “If you had gone to Dalton, I mean.”

Kurt thinks about it for a few seconds. “Depends.” He scrunches up his nose. “Would I have liked you? I mean, how preppy were you, exactly? Remember, I went to a school full of cavemen, I might have been a bit skeptic at the thought of polite, well-mannered gentleman left and right.”

Blaine laughs. “I was preppy enough.” He squints his eyes in thought. “You know, actually, just picture me like I am now with the Dalton uniform replacing the suit. And less bowties because those weren’t in the dress code. The biggest disappointment at that school.”

“Yeah, what’s up with the suits anyway?” Kurt asks. “I do appreciate a good suit but… I would hate to wear them every day.”

“Well, I just got used to it. My dad always went to work in his suit, I had the uniform, and most Dalton parents were dressed just like mine… I don’t know, it seemed natural to also dress in suits here.” Blaine scratches his neck, a bit embarrassed. “Why, do you think I look boring?”

Kurt’s eyes widen. “No, no, not at all!” he promises. “You look great. I just realized that I’ve never seen you in anything else. I don’t even know your style. Unless suits _are_ your style.”

“Ha, not at all.” Blaine shudders at the thought. “I mean, nothing fancy, you know?” Biting his lip, he adds, “I certainly couldn’t pull of your style. You’re always so original, I’m actually a bit jealous.”

“Thanks!” Kurt preens at the praise. “But now I really wanna know.” He supports his chin with one hand propped on the desk as he looks Blaine up and down with curious eyes, blue irises sparkling. “What do you usually wear?”

Blaine blushes under the sudden attention. “This and that, I guess.” He makes a vague gesture with his hand. “Uh… polo shirts. Colorful pants. Cardigans. And… fuzzy sweaters.”

Kurt giggles. “Fuzzy sweaters?”

“It’s winter,” Blaine mumbles. “Of course I wear warm sweaters.”

“Okay, sorry,” Kurt says with a grin that suggests he is not sorry at all, “but all I can think of are Rachel’s horrible animal sweaters. Be honest, do you own anything with reindeer or, like, cats on it?”

“No, not that kind of sweater!” Blaine exclaims. “Like… stylish ones. At least I think they’re stylish. I don’t know… maybe you should just see for yourself.”

“Yeah, maybe I should,” Kurt echoes.

The silence that follows seems almost deafening to Blaine.

This is it. The moment he could do it – ask Kurt to hang out after work, maybe for drinks in a bar or at his apartment. It’s an ideal opportunity, Kurt gave him the perfect set-up for a casual, harmless invitation.

But, then again, won’t that look too much like a date? Will he have to invite the other interns as well, at least at first, to keep up the pretense that this is strictly platonic?

It takes Blaine a bit too long to figure out how to proceed. His computer screen suddenly turns black as it goes into battery-saving mode, and it makes both Kurt and him jump.

“I, uh-” Kurt starts, turning back to his own computer. “I should start planning-”

“Ah, I need to send out that email, uhm…” Blaine says at the same time as he hits a random key to reboot the screen.

Opportunity wasted, Blaine thinks bitterly, reading his email over once more before actually sending it out. Maybe he should reconsider this talk of brand new journeys – turns out he’s a lousy adventurer. Shouldn’t he just take a risk?

“Kurt!” he says, flinching when he realizes how loud he’s said it.

Kurt’s head whips around as if he’s been waiting for Blaine to say something. Or maybe Blaine’s sudden conversation starter just scared the hell out of him, which is probably more likely.

“Yeah?” he asks.

“Uh.” Blaine swallows around nothing. “I was thinking… we don’t really have much time to really talk here at work. I mean, there’s lunch and today’s a bit slow and we talk all the time-” _Stop talking him out of this before you even ask_ , Blaine berates himself. He bites the corner of his lower lip a little anxiously as he continues, “But… we could just… hang out? Sometime? After work?”

At first, Kurt looks a bit confused before the itching corners of his lips slowly turn into a small smile.

“Yeah, sure,” he says. “What did you have in mind?” itching

“Hm…” Blaine hesitates. “Would you like to come over to my apartment, maybe? Meet Wes and my totally animal-sweater-free wardrobe? We could watch a movie or… cook. Or both.”

Kurt nods eagerly. “Sounds great.”

“Cool! Yeah, uhm, how-” He takes a small breath. “How about tomorrow? Eight-ish?”

“Tomorrow, eight-ish it is,” Kurt confirms. He sounds a bit breathy to Blaine but… maybe he’s imagining that.

Blaine resists doing a little happy dance first. Again, no freaking out about Kurt in front of Kurt.

But once Kurt goes on a quick bathroom break, Blaine spins in his chair so fast that he almost knocks over the bin next to his desk.


	11. First KISS

**Step 11 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Be smooth at all times (even when you’re not at work). If you’re just not capable of being smooth… just hope for the best?**

Kurt’s in a crisis. He’s _never_ spent this much time picking out an outfit before, his whole wardrobe is spread out on his bed, semi-categorized in almost indistinguishable piles that used to mean _yes_ and _no_ but now almost all mean _maybe_. Does he own anything that doesn’t scream _I tried too hard_?

He’s resorted to just standing in front of his bed and eyeing piece after piece with growing annoyance. It’s the position Rachel finds him in when she comes home from an afternoon of classes.

“Holy f-” she exclaims as she steps through the slightly opened curtains and comes to stand next to Kurt where she finishes in a whisper, “-alsetto. Kurt, I thought you said you were just hanging out with him! This looks a lot like pre-date outfit stressing…”

“I _know_ ,” Kurt whines. “But do you realize that not only have I never been on a date or even just casually hung out with anyone that significant, I’ve also never, _ever_ spent a whole evening with a guy other than my dad and Finn?” He presses both hands to his temple in the hope that they might cool his skin – they don’t. “I’m _pathetic_.”

“You’re not pathetic.” Rachel hugs him with one arm – she’s holding a bag of groceries in the other. She leans her head against Kurt’s shoulder. “You did just score a hang-out with Blaine. That’s so not pathetic.”

“It will be if I don’t choose the right outfit. I can’t look like I got overly excited, Rachel, what if he thinks I misinterpreted our outing… or, uhm, inting as a date?”

She lifts up a finger and nods her heads towards the groceries, running off quickly to set the bag down in the kitchen. Then she comes back, examining the clothes on the bed.

“Okay, what would you wear if this _was_ a date?”

Kurt points to a few items wordlessly: tight grey jeans, a red and white checkered shirt and a long scarf to go with the jeans.

“Okay, keep these,” she says. “Date or not date, you can’t go wrong with tight pants. I’ve seen you in these… the evening might go from no date to date in seconds.”

“I don’t know,” Kurt says, squirming uncomfortably.

“Trust me, you look amazing in those and he will think so, too.” She rummages about in the sea of clothes and finally holds up a sweater over the pants. “What do you think of this?”

Kurt shakes his head back with a concerned frown when he observes her choice. That is probably the only piece in his wardrobe that wandered straight onto the “no” pile without so much as a second thought.

“Rachel,” he says. “It’s so typical you would choose that but-” He stops, suddenly getting an idea. “Oh my god, no, that’s perfect. Rachel, you’re a genius.”

An hour later and finally suitably dressed, Kurt rings the bell that says “Anderson and Montgomery”. The apartment building looks surprisingly new, a bit of a change for Kurt who’s gotten a bit too used to live in a decrepit-looking neighborhood.

He’s buzzed in after a few seconds and makes his way up to the third floor, as Blaine had told him to do at work earlier. Another dark-haired guy who is not Blaine and thus must be Wes sticks his head out the door to greet Kurt.

“Hey, you must be Kurt,” he says and sticks his hand out. Before Kurt can shake it, though, Wes’ eyes travel to his chest and crinkle in amusement. As he finally does take Kurt’s hand, he calls out, “Oi, Blaine! Hurry up, you gotta see this!” In a stage whisper, he tells Kurt, “I applaud your sense of humor. I’m Wes, by the way.”

“Um, thanks, and… I figured,” Kurt says awkwardly, hoping that his sweater isn’t actually completely ridiculous, just as the door opens a bit wider to reveal – Blaine.

Blaine in _not_ his work clothes.

He’s dressed in an incredibly comfortable-looking dark blue hoodie with white and red stripes on the upper arm sleeves as well as the edges of the hood and dark, almost black jeans that seem to fit him like a glove (Kurt can only see the front of him so the final assessment will have to wait until Blaine turns around, which Kurt almost, just almost, asks him to). It’s a simple enough look, perfect for hanging out, yet dapper and hot enough for Kurt’s crush to increase tenfold.

He figures most people would have a similar reaction to seeing people who usually wear street clothes in suits but having seen Blaine in a suit every day for the past few weeks and seeing him all comfortable and cozy and casually sexy makes Kurt wants to throw himself at Blaine.

He knows he has to pick up his jaw from where it’s dropped to the floor at some point but he’s too busy trying to form words to at least make the impression of a sane person. If not for Blaine, then at least for Wes, who is probably laughing at him right no-

Wes is laughing at Blaine.

Kurt drags his stare away from Blaine’s clothes to Blaine’s face. His eyes are not meeting Kurt’s as they’re staring at Kurt’s sweater like it’s hypnotizing him. Kurt isn’t sure whether it’s a good or bad reaction.

“Rachel picked that sweater.” Kurt cringes. “If that wasn’t obvious. I mean, it’s mine but-”

Blaine finally breaks his silence. “It’s- that’s so unfair,” he mutters, giving Kurt a helpless look. “Who looks _that_ good in a sweater with a kitten on it?!”

Kurt ducks his head with a satisfied smile. Exactly the reaction he wanted when he had thought over Rachel’s selection. Yes, it has a baby cat on it, and he normally wouldn’t be seen with anything like it – he doesn’t even remember what he was thinking when he bought it – but the sweater undeniably fits him in all the right places and shows off his muscles.

Wes’ hearty laughter is slowly transforming into a light chuckle. He turns to Kurt again. “I’m Wes, by the way. It’s really nice to meet you. Unfortunately, I have to study all night because I have a quiz coming up, so I’ll mostly be in my room, but make yourself at home.”

Kurt can instantly see why Blaine is friends with him. His smile is incredibly friendly and infectious, and he’s got a very polite yet boyish aura.

Wes disappears into the apartment and Blaine steps out of the way to make room for Kurt.

“Sorry, come on in,” he says.

As Kurt passes him, he can’t help but stop for a second to compliment Blaine’s outfit as well. “I’d say you clean up well,” he says, teasingly tugging on one of the hoodie’s drawstrings, “but it’s kind of the other way round, you… dress down well, I guess?” He laughs nervously. “I just mean you look good in that and, uh, I approve of the not-work style.”

Blaine tucks his chin into his sweater’s hood and smiles. “Thanks. I gotta say it is way more comfortable than my office look.”

That goes without saying. He looks cuddly. God, Kurt wouldn’t say no to cuddling.

For now, he settles for an apartment tour and finally getting to see Blaine’s bedroom. Just like Blaine’s clothes, it’s simple yet elegant, a lot of dark tones with some colorful elements. Kurt falls in love with the kitchen immediately – just like the loft, it is integrated in the living room, but it looks a lot nicer than his and there is a kitchen island Kurt is avid to sit at. Blaine humors him and pours them both of a cup of coffee before sitting down at the island as well.

“So, you’re here,” he says. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Yeah, same.” Kurt smiles over the rim of his coffee cup. “Your apartment is great, Blaine. Frankly, I’m a bit jealous that Rachel and I didn’t get it for our own.”

They make a bit small talk about their living situations, their roommates and the neighborhood. There’s an unspoken agreement that they relegate work talk to when they’re actually at work, and Kurt revels in the fact that even without it, they don’t run out of things to talk about. When they finally migrate to the couch half an hour later, the tension has died down a bit.

However, it comes back (or more or less hits Kurt in the face) when Blaine gets up to get them popcorn and Kurt finally does see how his outfit looks like from the back. And sweet burning _hell_ , Blaine works those pants.

It doesn’t stop there, though. Having a perfect line of sight from the couch to where Blaine’s standing in the kitchen, Kurt can’t help but observe him – it’s not like he has anything else to do, and it is just so enticing to watch Blaine work. As he fiddles with the popcorn maker, Blaine keeps up the light conversation about their high school friends that they had been engaged in before. When the popcorn’s done, he adds some salt, and pops a single kernel into his mouth, closing his lips around it and trying to determine whether he needs to add more flavor.

It’s the first time Kurt actively and consciously thinks about Blaine’s mouth. It’s the first time he observes the small purse of his lips as he sucks on the kernel, and he’s suddenly got a strong urge to just get up and kiss Blaine senseless. He opts for leaning one side of his burning face against the couch cushions instead, hoping the dim light will cover up his blush once Blaine returns to the couch.

When he does, he asks, “Okay, so what do you wanna do? We could watch a-”

“Kissing,” Kurt says for no apparent reason. His brain has probably short-circuited, or maybe he left it on the doorstep to Blaine’s apartment…?

“Movie,” Blaine finishes lamely before he unceremoniously drops the popcorn bowl on the coffee table. “Uh, what?”

Kurt’s face is on _fire_ , and he just knows the dim light is not enough to disguise it.

“I, uh, I meant… first kisses!” he yelps, sounding unbelievably inane to his own ears. “We should talk about that.”

“About first kisses,” Blaine repeats, eyebrows raised.

“Yes, you know, we were talking about high school and friends and stuff but we haven’t discussed past relationships.” Kurt sits up a little straighter. “Friends should know these things. So, go. First crush, first kiss, first love, first significant other…”

Even though he is still terribly embarrassed, Kurt breathes out a sigh of relief. Nice save, that’s for sure. Not as smoothly as he hoped he would eventually broach the topic of their love lives but then again, he didn’t have a better plan anyway.

“Uhm, well, okay.” Blaine sits up straight, too. Kurt reaches for the popcorn bowl. Might as well enjoy this. “Not much to tell.” Even more to enjoy then. “I had this crush on a guy who worked at the GAP. Ended _very_ awkwardly, I… god, this is embarrassing.” _Join the club_ , Kurt thinks. “I serenaded him in public. At the GAP. During his shift.” Blaine covers his eyes with one hand. “It was horrible.”

Kurt hides a big smile beneath his popcorn-free hand. “That’s sweet.”

“No, no, it wasn’t,” Blaine is quick to add. “I got him fired. So… I toned it down after that. I mean, with others. Not him. I just figured that serenading was not the way to go. Even though I always kind of wished I’d find someone who’d appreciate it a bit more. Even without the firing, I don’t think he was that into it.”

Kurt coos. And thinks, _I like being serenaded._ But he doesn’t say anything.

“Anyway. Then there was a whole lot of nothing. Some minor crushes on people at Dalton. Wes swears I had a crush on him but he’s very much imagining that. I liked our friend David for a while. Wes would be jealous, though, so don’t tell him that. But, yeah, David was straight, so no chance.”

“Been there,” Kurt says with a grin. When Blaine raises one eyebrow, Kurt delves into a quick story of how he fell in love with Finn who then became his stepbrother and very much not the center of Kurt’s world anymore, and he clutches his belly laughing when Kurt recounts the multiple missions he accomplished in an endless quest to make Finn fall for him.

“But it was your turn,” Kurt reminds him, and Blaine sighs.

“I don’t have such entertaining stories,” he says. “But, okay, there was Sebastian.”

“Oh, he sounds important.”

“Ugh, believe me, he wasn’t.” Blaine chuckles. “At least not in hindsight. I think you’d find him smarmy. At best, he was snotty. But he was into me and it was the first time anyone really was, so I let him kiss me at a Warbler party and… we kind of went out for a while. But then one time we were at another party and I was tipsy and he was drunk enough to try more, I refused and that was the end of that.”

Kurt frowns. “Just like that?”

“Just like that.” Blaine shrugs. “I mean, he tried a few more times but it was very, very obvious by then that he didn’t actually want a relationship and all of our kisses took place when there was alcohol involved so I wasn’t too sad to see him go.” He tilts his head. “And… now it’s your turn.”

“What, that’s it?” Kurt asks, surprised.

“Uh, yeah, I think so?” Blaine looks down at his hands. “I’ve never really had a boyfriend.”

Kurt feels warm all over as he admits, softly, “Me neither.”

Blaine turns to him on the couch, crosses his legs with an elbow on each knee and props his head up on his hands. “Tell me?”

Kurt licks his lips. “Well, I told you about Finn. Nothing there, obviously. Then there was another unrequited crush on Sam… he was new in glee club. Also a jock but built like a model. I thought he was gay because he dyed his hair.” He holds up a hand when Blaine opens his mouth. “I know, don’t even. I was desperate, okay?”

“Okay,” Blaine says with an amused smile.

“In fact, I was so desperate that the year after that, I had a very brief but intense crush on the new Spanish teacher at our school. I forgot his name, that’s how insignificant he was, but… you know. He looked good, he spoke Spanish.”

Blaine makes a claw motion with one of his hands. “Rawr,” he teases.

Kurt laughs. “Exactly.”

“First kiss?”

Kurt sees now why his smooth attempt to cover up his Freudian slip wasn’t so smooth after all. He hadn’t wanted to admit this.

He twists his clasped hands awkwardly. “Sort of… hasn’t… happened yet.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Except I’m not.”

“Well, I’m gonna echo you then,” Blaine says. “That’s _it_?!”

Kurt gives him a look. “I didn’t sound that surprised.”

Blaine grins. “Yes, you did. You thought I was a stud.”

Kurt hits him on the arm lightly. “Shut up, I did not.” He sighs. “Anyway, I guess I could count that incident in the locker room with-”

“No,” Blaine says sternly. “That doesn’t count. Never count that, okay?”

“Okay.” Kurt leans back against the cushions. “Oh, I forgot Chandler!”

“Chandler?”

”Yeah… a guy I met at the music store in Lima. A bit geeky but sweet. We exchanged numbers and texted for a while and Rachel made me bring him to one of our basement parties in the hopes that a game of spin-the-bottle would lead to my first actual kiss but it didn’t, and frankly, I wasn’t _that_ interested, anyway. He was a lot cuter in text than it person, as awful as that sounds. And yeah, well, that’s it for me, too.”

“Hm. I bet guys at Dalton would have been all over you,” Blaine says. “Our uniforms were boring but I see you rocking that kitten sweater tonight and I think you might have actually looked _good_ in one of those.”

Kurt huffs. “I actually forgot I’m wearing that. Did I mention that was Rachel’s idea?”

“One of her better ones, from the stories I’ve heard,” Blaine says.

“You know, I actually have to agree.”

They talk about Rachel and NYADA and school plans for a while after that, and when Kurt looks at his phone, it’s suddenly two hours later – his cue to leave. They both have work the next day. Blaine actually escorts Kurt to the bus station, claiming he needs a bit of fresh air. Kurt is glad he’s not the only one who seems to not want to stop hanging out yet.

Sure, there was no cuddling, Kurt was awkward and tense most of the time and he’s another step closer to losing his mind over his crush, but it was his first time spending an alone with a guy he’s interested in, and he kind of wants to do it all over again, and keep doing it until he’s gotten the hang of it. Something’s gotta give.

“This was a good idea,” he says to Blaine when they’ve walked in silence for a bit. “The hanging out after work. I’m a fan.”

“Me, too.” Blaine kicks a rock with his shoe. “I… this is probably rude, but I’ve heard so much about Rachel and your apartment now, so-”

“Repeat tomorrow at my place?” Kurt asks at once. “Same time?”

Blaine beams at him. “I’ll be there at eight.”


	12. A Shrill LAUGH

**Step 12 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Or take a walk. Or don’t.**

Blaine adores Kurt’s apartment. The soft lights and the wooden furniture have a soothing effect. It’s cozy and warm and so _Kurt_ with its conglomerate of trendy design ideas, and just like Kurt in all his facets, some of them don’t really make sense to Blaine (for example, he doesn’t get the euphemistically named “privacy” curtains). But all in all, he feels at home as soon as he steps inside.

Or maybe that’s just the fact that Kurt’s wearing a very home-y and soft outfit. He’s in a green shirt and dark brown pants that would probably seem boring at the store but somehow look good on Kurt. Blaine’s glad that he’s not too overdressed. He wasn’t sure what to expect.

But Kurt smiled fondly at his mix of mustard pants, a black dress shirt and a white sweater cardigan with black patterns on it when he greeted Blaine at the door, so Blaine figures he has nothing to worry about.

His breath caught a little when Kurt reached up to straighten his bowtie, the finishing touch on his outfit, and let his finger linger for a few seconds. Their faces were so close and Blaine could only focus on Kurt’s sweet smile as he bit his lip and said, “Hi, you.”

“Right back at you,” Blaine replied hoarsely.

Fast forward twenty minutes and Blaine has seen the legendary loft and all of its little quirks, has cooed at all the pictures of Kurt’s glee friends in both his and Rachel’s rooms and gushed about finally seeing Kurt’s designs for Vogue come to life at his work station.

As Blaine follows Kurt back to the kitchen to help serving dinner, he notices that he has yet to meet Rachel. The only room he hasn’t seen is the bathroom but he knows from Kurt’s Rachel stories that she sings potential audition songs and future Tony Award numbers in there, so he’s pretty sure that she’s not there.

And that’s where it gets confusing again. While they were alone yesterday as well, Blaine didn’t plan Wes’ busy study night and would have included him in the evening because he knew it wasn’t exactly a date. Rachel not being there could be a coincidence as well. It’s probably wishful thinking to assume that Kurt has banned her from the apartment to be with Blaine.

After all, they’re not on a date. At least not in so many words. Blaine’s pretty sure that if they were to call it a date, absolutely nothing would be different, from the candles flickering on the dinner table to the pillows on the couch looking impeccably smooth and straightened to Kurt and Blaine’s eyes meeting decidedly more often than they would at lunch or in the intern office.

Really, the only thing that keeps Blaine from calling it a date is that they haven’t officially asked each other out, or even so much as hinted at wanting it to be a date.

Well, Blaine wants it to be a date. And he has high hopes that maybe Kurt wants it, too.

Just as Blaine’s about to inch closer to Kurt at the kitchen counter and maybe pretend there was a stray hair on his sweater or something, Kurt turns around from the stove, looking a bit conflicted, and says, “Oh, um, by the way, I meant to tell you… this is vegan food, actually, because of-”

He trails off and Blaine doesn’t follow up with a question regarding the sudden change in diet because they’re interrupted by a shrill laugh at the front door. It is pulled open unceremoniously, and reveals a short, brown-haired girl next to a tall, lean guy who has a hand low on her back.

“Rachel,” Kurt finishes softly.

Blaine bites his lip. There go his hopes of a romantic dinner for two.

Not that he doesn’t want to meet Rachel, of course. So he puts on a cheery face and smiles at Rachel and the guy who he assumes is Brody, the dance TA Rachel has sort of been dating. He’s heard Kurt’s horror stories of naked butts on kitchen chairs in Kurt’s presence, and the guy sort of looks like he’s confident enough to pull that off with a third party in the house.

“Hi!” Rachel squeals when she notices Blaine. “You must be Blaine! I’ve heard so much about you!”

Blaine glances at Kurt, who’s busy throwing Rachel a dangerous look.

“I mean… he mentioned you,” Rachel says, collecting herself a little. “Oh! And… this is Brody.”

The guy lifts a hand in greeting, and Blaine does the same.

“We’re just going to hang our coats and then we’ll be right back,” Rachel says and disappears into her room, taking Brody with her.

As Blaine follows them with his eyes, he notices for the first time that there are four sets of plates on the dinner table, and not just candles. Of _course_ his brain would not register the key infos.

Kurt sighs. “As I was about to explain,” he says as he steps next to Blaine, keeping his voice low, “Rachel already had plans with Brody and went a little overboard trying to combine our evenings.” He still looks a bit apprehensive. “I swear this is not what I had planned but she sort of thought this could be a double… uhm- thing.” He clears his throat. “And, well, once Rachel sets a plan in motion, there’s no stopping her.”

Oh. So… maybe he _wasn’t_ wrong. Maybe Kurt had other plans. And maybe they both have trouble defining this.

“It’s okay.” Blaine locks eyes with Kurt. “And this double… thing. Do you-” He breaks off and starts again. “Do you want it to be?”

Kurt’s head sways in a vague gesture. “A thing, yes,” he confirms, voice even softer than before. “A double… not really.”

Oh god, Blaine hopes that means what he thinks it does. He sort of wants to clarify (he doesn’t trust his brain anymore – maybe Kurt just doesn’t like Brody and wanted a nice evening with Rachel) but is glad he doesn’t because a second later, Brody and Rachel rejoin them at the table, and Kurt disappears from Blaine’s side in a flash, going back to the stove to check on dinner.

Rachel gets glasses and a bottle of red wine, leaving Brody and Blaine to the typical awkward small talk that occurs when two people who have no prior connection whatsoever meet unexpectedly. Brody is nice enough, asks Blaine about his work and offers some advice regarding Blaine’s NYU plans as he took a semester there first before transferring to NYADA. Rachel and Kurt chime in every now and then, and the conversation quickly moves to more general topics like Broadway and music performance.

Rachel is evidently well-versed in these things, and talks about them with animated, genuine passion. Blaine decides he likes her unabashed ways, and finds himself warming up to her quickly. Brody is a bit tougher to decipher, and he reminds Blaine a tiny bit too much of Sebastian to really like him. He senses that Kurt isn’t too fond of him either, as he usually quiets down a bit as soon as Brody reenters the conversation. The changes are nuanced enough for neither Rachel nor Brody to notice, and so they continue talking without abandon.

It’s not really what Blaine had envisioned before he came over but he doesn’t really care as long as Kurt keeps brushing their ankles together every now and then and says “sorry” a second too soon like he has actually planned it.

When they’re done eating, Brody finishes his wine in one swig and declares, “This was really nice but I’m afraid I’ll have to leave now. I have a dance class to prepare.”

Blaine tries not to look too happy about that as Brody gets up and smiles at Kurt and Blaine.

“Always busy,” Rachel complains without a pout. “Wait, I’ll see you off.” She pulls him behind her privacy curtains again and, yes, Blaine knows he was right in thinking they wouldn’t work, he can hear their lips smacking as they obviously start making out.

Kurt only raises his eyebrows and takes a swig of his wine as well.

When he sees Blaine’s questioning look, he shrugs and jokes, “You try living with her for a week.”

“I like her, she’s funny.” Blaine smiles. “A bit loud.”

“Yeah, she’s, like, 90% lungs.” Kurt grins. “Which is a normal-sized lung but in a short person.”

“Hey.” Blaine throws his napkin at Kurt. “Height jokes are never funny.”

“If it’s any comfort to you, I think you’ve actually got an inch or two on her.”

Blaine sticks out his tongue in reply, and Kurt winks at him, and yes, this is what Blaine wants. Fun with Kurt – more-than-fun with Kurt, come to think of it – both of them bold to do _something_ now that they’ve almost established that they want the same thing.

Kurt glances at the couch in the living room. “Do you want to move things-”

There’s a quick succession of a moan, shushing and then Rachel’s unmistakable laughter, making both Kurt and Blaine freeze and then shudder.

Blaine has a feeling Brody might not leave after all.

Kurt turns to the door now. “Outside?”

“Yeah, I could use a walk,” Blaine agrees, and they both giggle as they more or less flee the apartment.

Walking is a tiny bit more difficult than Blaine imagined, and Kurt looks like he realizes a tiny flaw in their logic too as his eyes blink in surprise when the apartment door doesn’t close on the first try, so they decide to not wander far.

Not far turns out to be the bottom stair of the staircase. The front door of the apartment building doesn’t close entirely, so it’s cold enough to count as outside, and it gives Blaine the perfect excuse to huddle a bit closer to Kurt.

“I thought I didn’t have that much wine,” Kurt ponders, scrunching his nose.

“I like it when you do that,” Blaine says, not thinking about his words in his wine-altered state.

“What?”

Blaine leans in close and taps Kurt’s nose with his index finger. “That.”

Kurt scrunches up his nose again. “That?”

Blaine shoots him a wide smile. “Yes, that. It’s really cute.”

“Oh.” Kurt laughs and covers his face in his hands when his cheeks and ears turn a bit red. “Thanks,” he adds as he turns his head sideways to look at Blaine through the space between his fingers. Blaine wishes he could capture that moment between them.

“You’re welcome,” he whispers.

Kurt puts his hand back in his lap and sways to the side, knocking their arms together. “For the record,” he says, “I’m sorry this evening is so… crowded.”

“Don’t worry,” Blaine replies, and leans his head on Kurt’s shoulder. “It’s perfect.”


	13. Can You Feel the MUSIC?

**Step 13 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Behave yourself at office parties (pt. 1).**

Kurt is slowly but surely going insane.

He wants to be much more than Blaine’s friend, and he is very sure by now that Blaine would not be opposed to that at all, but somehow, things don’t develop that way after their second non-date date.

First kisses have been amiss in both of their pasts; in Blaine’s case the fact that it always happened when he was drunk and perceived as easy by his asshole ex, in Kurt’s case the complete lack of relevant incidents.

Which is probably exactly why they did not kiss last week when they got sexiled by Brody and Rachel. There was wine involved, never mind the fact that even the blood alcohol level didn’t even seem to make either of them brave enough to actually make a move.

Kurt wants it to be special, both for him and for Blaine. But then again, the constant anticipation of a kiss in the near future is starting to make his blood boil. He’s hyperaware of Blaine’s presence near him at all times, and it’s getting more and more ridiculous how his heart skips a beat every time Blaine reaches for a pen on his desk or steals one of his fries at lunch.

The Vogue Christmas party in the following week is no different.

Since they couldn’t see each other outside of work again before the party, it’s the first time the whole wanting-this-to-be-a- _thing_ ordeal is resurfacing quickly and urgently, and it starts with Kurt having to physically restrain himself from throwing himself at Blaine as soon as he enters the room (reasonably and fashionably late) and sees Blaine already dancing to the heavy beat of the music in that little goofy yet somehow incredibly sexy way of his.

He doesn’t go over immediately, instead choosing to talk to everybody else for a while, accepting the drinks he’s handed left and right (apparently, underage drinking isn’t too much of an issue at Vogue, as long as everybody takes a cab home), and feeling quite buzzed already when he’s finally done making his polite rounds.

Half an hour ago, staying somewhat sober seemed like a good idea. But – one wine glass turned into two, then into three and now Kurt’s lost track. He doesn’t even remember why he was going to abstain tonight… something to do with Blaine?

The guy in question now jogs over to him with a big smile.

“Kurt,” he says, words slightly slurred as well. “Kurt, you’re here.”

“Of course I’m here.” Kurt laughs. “Where- where else would I be?”

“Avoiding me?” Blaine makes it sound like a question but his exaggerated pout makes it clear he’s not actually upset. “You talked to everyone else before me.”

Kurt’s carefree when he hums and says, “Save the best for last.”

Blaine beams at that. “Come dance with me.”

“Oh, um, I-”

Kurt’s flustered by the sudden request. He looks at his wine glass as if it could be able to help, and Blaine follows his line of sight.

“Okay, let’s get another drink first, and _then_ you’ll dance with me.”

“Um.” Kurt’s still not sure dancing with Blaine is such a good idea – but why again? “Okay.”

Two more drinks and another impatient request later, Kurt does follow Blaine to the dance floor and lets himself get lost in the lights and the music and the alcohol and Blaine’s body close to his. They really dance more _next_ to each other than _with_ each other but Kurt still feels like his nerves are on fire. Sometimes, their sides will brush and Blaine will sway into Kurt a bit like he just can’t help it.

The beat throbs through Kurt’s veins, and he takes Blaine’s hand to show it to Blaine, too.

“I love it when you can feel the music everywhere!” he shouts over the music, squeezing Blaine’s hand. “Can you feel the music, Blaine?”

Blaine laughs, and entwines their other hands as well, pulling Kurt closer. “Yep!” he shouts back. Then, quieter, but still audible to Kurt, “It’s… hot.”

Kurt enjoys the way Blaine’s eyes turn darker now that they’re all up in each other’s space.

“I know,” Kurt breathes out, face close to Blaine’s now. “I really like it.”

“Me, too.”

There’s that urge. There’s urge he was trying to suppress for some reason.

He really shouldn’t, should he? His brain says it’s a bad idea.

But then again, he can’t really hear his brain over the music.


	14. That's NEW

**Step 14 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Behave yourself at office parties (pt. 2).**

In Blaine’s inebriated mind, everything makes perfect sense.

One minute, they’re dancing, and the next, Kurt’s lips are pressed against Blaine’s.

It makes perfect sense because it’s what Blaine has been wanting to do for ages, and somehow he just _knows_ Kurt and he are meant to do this. So he reciprocates eagerly, winding his arms around Kurt’s waist, both of them still swaying to the music but quickly losing rhythm.

Blaine has no idea how long they kiss but at some point they move things from the dance floor to the pool table that’s thankfully not in use at the moment so that Blaine can lean against it while Kurt towers over him (and, yeah, Blaine discovers he actually has a _thing_ for that). From this position, he has easy access to the part of Kurt’s neck exposed by the loose collar of his shirt, and he takes advantage of it immediately, attaching his lips to a spot close to Kurt’s jaw and applying light pressure there.

He doesn’t really have a clue what he’s doing but Kurt’s apparently very into it, seeing as he shivers in Blaine’s arms.

“Tha- _oh_ … that’s… new,” he gasps.

Kurt’s right. This is _all_ very new.

“I can stop,” Blaine mumbles into the collar of Kurt’s shirt. It smells like Kurt’s fabric softener and his cologne and wow, can Blaine _live_ here?

Kurt shakes his head. Blaine looks back up. Kurt’s eyes are glassy and intense on him.

“Don’t wanna stop.”

It takes them less than a second to get back to kissing each other, and they keep at it until someone pulls them back to the dance floor and Blaine loses track of what’s happening around him because there’s another drink in his hand and the next thing he knows is that he’s in a cab, going back to his place.

The rest is a bit of a blur.


	15. Wasted OPPORTUNITY

**Step 15 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Don’t be a coward and avoid work to escape your private life.**

Kurt calls in sick for the second day in a row.

The first day, he had an excuse he was sure everybody would understand after seeing him at the party – he had a hangover of enormous proportions.

The second day, he claims to still need a day to get back in shape.

That’s one way to put it. But the unanswered calls and text messages on his phone speak volumes about his actual reason.

They’re all from Blaine, all 43 notifications. And Kurt cannot deal with Blaine right now.

It all started when he threw up the first time in the Vogue bathroom. Jen and Iseul were there with him, helping him clean up afterwards, and when they splashed a bit of water in his face to cool his burning cheeks, he suddenly gasped and said, “Oh god, it’s wasted!”

“ _You’re_ wasted,” Iseul told him with a giggle. She was tipsy, too, but Kurt had no time for her nonsense. She had not just made out with her almost-boyfriend.

“No, the opportunity!” Kurt exclaimed and almost started crying right then.

He didn’t cry, and he hasn’t in the two days since then. But there’s a constant pressure in his throat, like it could happen any moment, and the reason for that has been clear as day ever since he sobered up. He had a chance to make things great for both of them, to make it special and precious and a moment to remember.

He completely ruined their first kiss. The one first kiss that could have counted for him, the one first kiss that Blaine could have had sober, not sprung on him by a drunken madman.

He screwed it all up, and he feels so, so, so stupid and guilty.

But he can’t explain all that in one text or phone call, so he doesn’t answer Blaine all day. And he’s too ashamed of himself to face Blaine in person, so he can’t go to work, either.

Rachel calls out, “Kurt? Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” he says, slipping further under his covers.

She comes in with a tray with mugs full of steaming tea, her favorite vegan cookies that she usually doesn’t share and an envelope.

Kurt smiles weakly. “Is it intervention time already?”

Intervention with tea and cookies has almost become a tradition for them. Usually, it’s Kurt who intervenes whenever Rachel has a meltdown over her classes or future Broadway career, but this time Kurt knows without her even acknowledging his question that he’s on the receiving end for a change.

“Kurt,” she says, sitting down on one side of the bed and setting the tray aside on Kurt’s drawer. “You’re acting like you accidentally killed Blaine’s childhood pet or infected him with a serious disease.”

“Well, no, but-”

“Ah!” she says warningly with her index finger raised in front of his nose. “Let me finish.” She sighs. “Look, all you did was kiss someone who was seriously into you way before you both got drunk and made out. You don’t even know that he’s actually mad at you. I bet he’s not. How many times has he called, huh?”

Kurt shifts on the mattress. “He hasn’t,” he lies.

“Kurt, I can hear your phone vibrating from my room every half hour or so.”

As if on cue, Kurt phone lights up with a call and starts buzzing. Kurt presses the red button quickly and shoves it back under the covers.

“19 times now,” he admits.

“See, he really wants to talk to you. And you’re hiding in here.”

“I had an opportunity to make both of our first kisses matter,” Kurt mumbles. “I can’t take that back, ever.”

“But you liked it, right?”

Kurt pulls the blanket over half of his face to cover his blush. “Of course I liked it.”

“And he liked it, too, from what you’ve told me.”

“I mean, I guess, but that doesn’t change-”

Rachel rolls her eyes at him. “Yeah, I know, you were drunk, blah blah blah. So what? So Blaine had an ex-boyfriend that was a jerk to him and always tried to get him drunk. You’re not that guy, and you didn’t slip Blaine all those drinks to seduce him. He got drunk by himself, you got drunk by yourself, and then you made out. Mistake or not, it’s a totally redeemable one.”

“But the first-”

“Who _cares_ , Kurt?” Rachel asks, pulling his blanket down a bit to look at his face properly and sternly. “If you don’t pull your head out of your ass anytime soon, you will miss all the opportunities to have second and third and fourth and fifth kisses with Blaine.”

Kurt gulps, and glances at his phone. There’s three new messages. Blaine has probably gotten off work by now. And either he’s super pissed and wants Kurt to know just how much, or he’s worried about what happened, too.

He sighs. “You’re right. I’ll call him back in a bit.”

“Damn straight,” she says, and hands Kurt a cookie and the tea. “Here, now you’ve earned this.”

They sit in silence for a while, sipping their tea and dunking the cookies in it.

“Thank you,” Kurt finally says. “I… I don’t even know what I’m so scared of.”

“Well, every first is a scary.” Rachel smiles. “Be glad you have so many of them to share with Blaine. Scary can be good, you know?”

Kurt nods, biting his lip into a smile as he thinks about what his relationship with Blaine could look like if he finally got his act together.

“Oh, and…” Rachel reaches for the tray again, grabbing the envelope she brought in with her. “While you were throwing yourself a pity party, this arrived.”

Kurt eyes it with apprehension. “Is it from Blaine?”

“No.” Rachel laughs. “I don’t think he’s gotten that desperate yet. But, uhm… it’s from NYADA.”

“Oh my god,” Kurt whispers. “They’ve made their choices for the spring semester?”

“I guess so.” Rachel hands him the letter. “Ready for this?”

Kurt stares at the letter. Then he shakes his head.

“No, I can’t open it right now. If it’s a rejection, I’ll probably go insane and change my mind about calling Blaine back or something. And if it’s an acceptance letter, then I want to share it with Blaine, too.”

There’s an urgent knock on the door.

“Oh!” Rachel gets up, frowning at her wrist watch. “I’m not expecting Brody for another hour. Maybe he’s early.”

Kurt’s still staring at his letter and misses how Rachel gets the door immediately. He’s only startled out of his trance when she calls out, “Hey Kurt, turns out I was wrong about Blaine’s level of desperation!”

Kurt sits up straight, almost spilling his tea over his NYADA letter.

Blaine’s at his door right _now_ , and Kurt hasn’t ready any of his messages, doesn’t know whether he’s mad or concerned or sad or straight up done with Kurt. Kurt hasn’t even prepared his apology speech, not to mention the fact that he’s neither showered nor properly dressed. And his room’s a mess, too.

Great.


	16. PART You, PART Me

**Step 16 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Don’t procrastinate, face problems right away.**

Blaine’s heart is racing when he steps into Rachel and Kurt’s apartment.

She seems quite chipper, even happy to see him, so Blaine is hopeful that Kurt hasn’t changed his mind about Blaine entirely. That maybe they can at the very least stay friends.

The voice of reason in Blaine’s head that is scarily similar to Wes’ is saying “I told you so” right now but Blaine just couldn’t help but wonder when Kurt called in sick and didn’t answer his messages or calls at all. He just got scared that Kurt didn’t want anything to do with him after all. That maybe it was just a drunken experiment and as soon as Kurt sobered up, he realized the mistake he had made.

“Kurt’s in his room,” Rachel tells him, and even without the information, Blaine would have guessed that – the curtain’s drawn close and behind it, there’s a lot of rustling, like Kurt is moving around hectically.

Blaine’s about to move when the curtain suddenly opens a tiny bit and Kurt’s face appears.

“I’ll be out in a sec,” he says, face red. Rachel, with her back to Blaine, apparently mouths something in Kurt’s direction because it prompts Kurt to look at her with a pleading look on his face but whatever it is he’s asking, she denies it with a slight shake of her head.

“Well,” she says, turning around to Blaine, “Change of plan, I’m now apparently meeting Brody at his apartment and not here, so… I’m gonna go…” She claps her hands with finality. “You two have fun.”

She pulls on her coat, grabs a bag from the kitchen chair and hugs Blaine briefly before disappearing into the hallway and pulling the door close.

Blaine stands there awkwardly, a bit lost.

“Kurt?” he asks carefully. “Can I just-”

“Stay where you are!”

“Um, alright, but-”

There’s a sigh, and Kurt’s face is back. This time, Blaine notices his ruffled hair.

“I’m in my pajamas, Blaine.”

“Okay?” Blaine holds back his million comments about how cute Kurt’s hair looks or how little he cares about Kurt’s attire right now. Kurt might be mad that he just showed up like that, so he just nods instead.

Kurt sighs again and pulls the curtain aside. He’s indeed in his pajamas, silky and classy but rumpled.

“I’m sorry, Blaine.”

Blaine nods sadly. That sounds very much like he was wrong about Kurt not having changed his mind. It sounds like a preamble to “this isn’t going to work out”.

“I understand,” he says quietly. “I can leave, so-”

“What?”

“I showed up unannounced and-”

“But I’m apologizing,” Kurt says, biting his lip. “I understand you’re mad but-”

“I’m not mad,” Blaine says, drawing his eyebrows together as well. “I just don’t understand what happened since the party and, frankly, you not picking up the phone drove me crazy. I just needed to make sure where we stand in person, sorry for dropping by like that. I mean, I did send you a bunch of texts saying I was coming over but you probably didn’t read them.”

“I didn’t,” Kurt confirms. “But… not because I didn’t want to. I just… can we sit down for this?” He gestures to the couch. “Take a seat?”

Blaine complies and waits for Kurt to join him. He sits down gingerly, looking incredibly young and vulnerable in his sleepwear. His entire face is guarded, like he is mentally preparing himself for the next step.

Blaine swallows around the lump in his dry throat.

“Kurt, I just- we can stay friends, can’t we?” He sends Kurt a pleading look. “I get that you want to br- well, break up isn’t the right word for… this… but I guess you know what I mean. But please don’t shut me out like this, I can’t take that, I-”

He breaks off when there’s a strangled sound coming from Kurt.

“Break up?” he chokes out. “I- Blaine, I never wanted to-”

“I know you don’t want to hurt me,” Blaine says quickly, looking down at his hands. “And like I said, I’m not mad. Maybe a bit sad that you felt the need to hide from me. But not mad. How could I? Just because this is something we _did_ , it doesn’t have to be something we _do_ , I don’t expect anything.”

“Blaine, stop.” Kurt grabs his arm. “Look at me. What the fuck is going on in that head of yours? I don’t want to brea-… end this. I was scared I screwed it up from the very beginning.”

Blaine shakes his head in slight confusion. “What?”

“Look, I…” Kurt shakes his head, too. “I don’t even know where to start. I shouldn’t have gotten drunk and kissed you just like that. You deserve better than that, you know, after your ex and all… and in general, too, so… I’m sorry I did it. But that doesn’t mean I want to, uhm, stop.”

Realization finally hits Blaine, and he blinks up at Kurt, a mixture of relief and frustration running through his veins.

“All of this is about Sebastian?” he asks incredulously. “Kurt, I couldn’t care less about him.”

“I know. I know.” Kurt pulls a face. “But now I’ve gone and done the same thing to you-”

Now Blaine’s the one to put a calming hand on Kurt’s arm.

“Believe me,” he says, “you didn’t. What is going on in _your_ head?”

The echoed words bring a small smile out on Kurt’s face.

“I just… wanted us to have a special first kiss,” he explains quietly. “Maybe that sounds lame. But I sort of wanted it to happen in full awareness.”

Blaine opens and closes his mouth a few times. “I- _Kurt_ ,” he finally mutters. “It _was_ special. At least, to me it was. So we were tipsy-”

“More than tipsy.”

“Whatever,” Blaine says with emphasis. “I only care that you finally kissed me. And that I kissed you back.” He chuckles nervously. “I mean, we were both there, right? It’s on both of us. Part you, part me. We’re both responsible. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But don’t you wish it would have been sober?” Kurt asks, searching for something in Blaine’s face as his eyes flit from one spot to the next in quick successions. “Don’t you regret it?”

“I really don’t.” Blaine frowns. “Do you?”

“I don’t know.” Kurt runs a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. Then he shakes his head. “I kinda don’t, actually.”

“Then why panic?” Blaine takes his hand. “I’m not going anywhere, promise. And if you stop hiding from me, maybe we can figure this out together.”

“I wasn’t hiding, I was…”

“Stalling?”

“Yeah.” Kurt sighs. “Sorry. Again.”

“It’s okay.” Blaine scoots a bit closer to fix a strand of hair on Kurt’s head. “For the record, I’m sorry you didn’t get the first kiss you wanted.”

Kurt’s eyes follow the movement of Blaine’s hand when he breathily replies, “Well, it was still a great kiss.” He grins. “Great Kiss _es_ , actually.”

Blaine stops playing with Kurt’s hair and looks at his face instead, mesmerized by the bright blue in his eyes and the slight tremble in his lips. Blaine takes his free hand and brings it up to Kurt’s mouth, thumb on the bottom lip to keep it still.

“You know,” he says. “That was our first drunk kiss.” He tries to not look too hopeful. “We could always try out a first sober kiss.”

“We could, couldn’t we?” Kurt asks hoarsely.

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Not at all.”

“And you’re sure that-”

“Blaine,” Kurt whispers, his lips already so close to Blaine’s that Blaine feels the words more than he hears them. “Don’t take this the wrong way but I really don’t wanna chit-chat right now.”

Blaine huffs out a surprised laugh before it is finally muffled by Kurt’s mouth. Blaine takes Kurt’s face in his hands as he kisses back slowly but with soft, urgent pressure.

He may have been drunk the first time but he still remembers it enough that kissing Kurt feels like coming home.


	17. With All Your QUIRKS

**Step 17 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Learn more about your coworkers.**

Blaine is the first to break away from their first sober kiss, leaning his forehead against Kurt’s and panting, “Okay, so what’s the verdict?”

Kurt tries to catch his breath as well but doesn’t succeed so he replies, truthfully, “You take my breath away.”

“And that means…?” Blaine squeezes their joint hands and leans forward to capture Kurt’s lips in a short peck. “Good first kiss?”

Kurt gives Blaine a bright smile. “Amazing first kiss,” he says. “I can’t believe I wasted two whole days. I could have been kissing you all this time.”

“I can’t believe you _are_ kissing me in the fir- oh, first place,” Blaine says, momentarily distracted by Kurt tackling him to the couch and latching onto his neck which Kurt notes happily as he starts sucking experimental kisses into Blaine’s skin.

“You better believe it,” he mutters between kisses, loosening Blaine’s tie for more access. “I can’t believe you showed up here in your work clothes.”

“I just really needed to see-”

Kurt suddenly sits up straight. “Clothes! Jesus Christ, I’m wearing my pajamas and you’re here, I’m making out with you in my pajamas, what the hell?!” He springs off the couch. “Stay where you are, I’ll be right back.”

Blaine manages to catch him by the wrist before Kurt can disappear in his room again. He’s hell-bent on getting some decent clothes on his body and do _something_ with his hair so that he can actually have a nice date with Blaine.

“Kurt.” Blaine pulls him back on the couch, back on his _lap_ , and Kurt could die with how intimate and nice that feels. “I like you in your pajamas. You look cute.” He smiles. “And that hair is glorious.”

“Shut up,” Kurt mumbles, reaching up to muss his hair a bit. He hates it how it falls flat down his face when it’s not styled.

“Seriously,” Blaine says. “I’d prefer you lending me some sweatpants and a shirt so that I can dress down with you. You don’t have anywhere to be tonight, right?”

“Yeah, but…”

“Think of it as a pajama party.” Blaine actually lights up at the thought, and Kurt feels his resolve crumble within seconds. Maybe he’s not that hell-bent, after all. Blaine continues, “We can bake cookies and watch a movie or something.”

“And braid each other’s hair?” Kurt teases.

Blaine grins before wrapping his arms back around Kurt’s body. “Please?” he asks, nuzzling the silky material of Kurt’s pajama. “I like you with all your quirks, and in any outfit imaginable. And those PJs are actually pretty fancy.”

Kurt smiles, his heart beating fast at Blaine’s words. “Obviously they are,” he says haughtily. “Okay, fine. But,” he holds up a finger, “if we’re turning this into a pajama party, you’re washing the gel out of your hair.”

Blaine’s eyes go wide and he brings up both of his hand to shield his hair from view.

Kurt gets up with a smirk. “I’ll fetch you something to wear while you decide whether you’re game or not.”

Half an hour and a bit of whining later, Blaine finally emerges from the bathroom with Kurt’s lounging clothes on and, most importantly, with unstyled hair. Kurt almost trips over the coffee table when he sees the curls Blaine has been hiding. Blaine turns red immediately.

“I told you,” he says, “they’re-”

Kurt is at his side faster than he can finish the sentence and puts a finger to Blaine’s mouth. “Cute,” he says, moving his hand to Blaine’s curls and taking one between his thumb and forefinger. “They’re cute.”

Blaine ducks his head. “You don’t have to say that.”

“I know,” Kurt replies matter-of-factly. “I’m not just saying it to reciprocate. I like you with all your quirks, too, and that includes the completely unnecessary hair insecurity.”

Blaine laughs. “I guess we’re both a bit weird.”

“Possibly,” Kurt says with a grin.

Blaine straightens his back. “Okay, cookies?”

“In a minute.” Kurt brings up both hands to Blaine’s neck and draws him in a bit. “But first this.”

He kisses him soundly, and loves how Blaine responds at once, like he has been doing every single time so far. Kissing is _fantastic_. How did he live so long without it?

He is only a tiny bit embarrassed by the whine escaping his mouth when Blaine pulls back after a while.

“Hey,” Blaine mumbles against Kurt’s face, pressing a tiny kiss to his cheek. “First kiss in PJs.”

“Oh my god, you’re ridiculous,” Kurt says, laughter bubbling up in his chest. “But maybe you’re onto something. Wanna have a first kiss while baking cookies?”

Blaine bounces on his heels a little. “Lead the way.”

As far as first kisses go, Kurt may or may not soon become a world-leading expert.


	18. RAIN-Soaked but Happy

**Step 18 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: As long as you’re happy, nothing can get to you.**

While they’re in their own little world, baking cookies, making out in the kitchen and barely paying attention to the movie playing in the background while they make out some more on the couch, the actual outside world has apparently experienced quite a change in weather.

Rachel comes home positively _drenched_ , and doesn’t even wait until she’s closed the apartment door to start complaining, “The things I do for you, Kurt! I could have stayed here tonight but noooo, you had to play hard to get with Blaine and practically force him to come over and me to leave you to alone for the night.” Still facing the door, she shrugs out of her wet coat and shoes. “If I find you looking unhappy and miserable in a minute, I am going to punch you in the face, I don’t even care how little sense that-” She finally turns around and spots Kurt and Blaine on the couch. “Okay, that was unnecessary then. So, you two…?”

She throws them a questioning look to which they both nod with matching smiles.

“Oh my god, Kurt!” she squeals, running over and throwing her arms around her best friend while Blaine watches with a tingling, warm feeling settling in his chest. “Finally!”

Kurt grumbles something about designer PJs and Rachel’s wet hair but Blaine can see it’s only half-hearted. While they engage in some roommate banter, Blaine checks his watch and suddenly gasps, “Oh, wow, I should get going soon if I want to catch the last bus!”

“It’s pouring outside,” Rachel says, gesturing to herself. “Maybe you should just… you know.”

Blaine shares a look with Kurt. Sure, they’re both already dressed appropriately for this particular situation, but they only just started this whole, sort of undefined thing, and Blaine doesn’t want to complicate things right now. Kurt looks torn and Blaine figures he’s thinking something along those lines as well.

“No, I really shouldn’t,” he says. He gets up from the couch. I’ll change back into my work clothes.” He takes off to go to the bathroom and changes in there quickly, only stopping to do a little happy dance as he steps into his suit. Coming out of the bathroom, he asks, “Hey, do you guys have an umbrella?”

Kurt and Rachel are still sitting on the couch, and it looks like Rachel has been bombarding him with questions because Kurt’s face is practically aflame. Blaine suppresses a laugh, only managing to do so because he thinks of how he will look once Wes gives him the third degree. Oh, man.

“Um, yeah, in the kitchen,” Kurt says.

Blaine chooses an umbrella he thinks must be Kurt’s and sets it on the table so he has both of his hands free to shrug on his jacket. There’s not much time left, so he says goodbye quickly – a wave in Rachel’s direction and the same with a slightly more intense look in Kurt’s – but Kurt hurries over and gives him a quick, slightly awkward (given that Rachel is still watching) peck on the lips.

“Bye,” Blaine breathes out, grabs his satchel and leaves the apartment with a spring in his step. He runs down the staircase and realizes only when he steps out into the rain that he forgot the umbrella on the kitchen table.

The bus is already in sight, so he makes a run for it anyway.

An hour later, he finally gets to his apartment, rain-soaked but happy (something as mundane as a downpour can’t change that), and finds Wes waiting for him in the living room.

“Blaine! I was worried!” he says. “You didn’t come home from work, and we had a Netflix date. Where have you been, man?”

“Sorry, Wes, my phone ran out of battery,” he replies. “But I’ve got news.” He makes a dramatic pause. “Kurt and I are… well, I don’t know actually, but I guess we’re together!”

Wes’ eyes widen. “Are you serious? Wow, Blaine! Congrats!” He grins. “About time.”

“Right?!” Blaine steps out of his wet clothes and makes his way to the bathroom. “I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t even tell me what you’re going to be doing in there.”

Blaine turns back to his best friend, scandalized. “Wes!”

“What?” Wes shrugs. “I can see that hickey on your neck.”

Blaine’s hand flies up to where Kurt was kissing him quite intensely earlier, and Wes cackles.

“Psych!” he exclaims. “But now I know there was below-the-chin kissing, so expect more jokes once you come back here.”

Blaine flips him off and makes sure to be quick enough in the bathroom to not raise suspicion. When he comes out and goes to his room, Wes is already sitting on his bed, grinning at him.

“So, tell me more,” he prompts, his eyes fixated on Blaine’s head. “For example, how in the hell Kurt Hummel managed to convince you to go product-free for the night.”

Blaine’s hands fly up to his hair.

“Oh my god, I totally forgot!” He frowns, and sits down on the bed next to Wes. “Wes, I totally forgot. I took the bus looking like this.”

“I have to ask Kurt how he did it,” Wes muses.

“It was only fair, he had bed hair, too,” Blaine says dazedly. “And… he said my hair was cute.”

“He did?” Wes smiles. “Aaaw.”

As Blaine remembers how Kurt kissed him afterwards, and how he tangled his fingers in his hair when they kissed again in the kitchen, he just flops onto the bed, grabs the pillow and smashes his face in it. He’s not proud of the muffled squeal that follows but… ah, well, it’s not every day you get to make out with the guy of your dreams and have him tell you he likes your hair like it naturally is. He was bound to go crazy at some point.

Wes starts laughing like crazy beside him, he’s wheezing and holding onto his belly with both hands as he rocks back and forth on the bed.

“Blaine!” he pants in between laughs. “That was the funniest… oh my god – funniest, most grossly adorable thing I’ve ever seen you do.” He wipes his eyes. “Hoooo boy. That was amazing. I regret not having it on camera. That would have been so much fun to play at your guys’ wedding!”

Blaine hits him with his pillow. Then he laughs, too. And tells Wes everything he needs to know about Kurt and his evening.

After Wes wishes him a good night (“but not too good, if you know what I mean”, which earns him another pillow in the face) and retreats to his own room, Blaine finally charges his phone and finds a bunch of calls and text messages from Kurt.

_You forgot the umbrella. :D_

_Rachel and I are watching you speed down the street like The Flash. You can do it, Barry!_

_So… I just tried to call you a few times but then I remembered your phone died earlier. With all of these first kisses, I sort of forgot that I had something, a second something, lying in my room. I’ll tell you tomorrow._

_Actually, I can’t wait. I GOT INTO NYADA!!!_

_… I got into NYADA. Blaine, why does that feel so unsatisfying? I think you turning out to be such a great first-kiss person ruined me for any other joy of this world._

_Or maybe I’m sick. Rachel says if I haven’t sung a victory song by tomorrow afternoon, she’s sending me to the doctor._

_Anyway, it’s late and you’re obviously not on your phone right now, so say hi to Wes and sleep well!_


	19. It's a SIGN

**Step 19 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Make tough decisions.**

**_Has it happened yet?_ **

_No, Rachel… I have no clue what the protocol for this situation is._

**_What?_ **

_… oh. You were talking about the NYADA victory song, weren’t you?_

**_What did you think I was talking about?_ **

_Nothing. Never mind._

**_Kurt. Something about Blaine, right?_ **

_Fine. Yes, Blaine. I just don’t know how to act around him at work. Do I kiss him hello when he comes in? Do I just hope that he kisses me? What do I do if he doesn’t? I know myself Rachel, I’ll wave awkwardly or something equally as embarrassing. You’ll have to promise to kill me if that happens._

**_Okay. Calming breath. Just be yourself. He likes you already, anyway. Talk to him about his stance on the whole kissing-in-the-office thing. In the meantime… WOULD YOU PLEASE FLIP THE HELL OUT ALREADY? YOU GOT INTO NYADA!!!_ **

_I’ll tell you when it happens. Thanks._

**_Kissing or singing?_ **

_Both. Gotta go now. Isabelle wants something._

Kurt pockets his phone with a sigh. It’s been a weird week. From the Christmas party to avoiding Blaine to kissing Blaine to not knowing whether he can kiss Blaine just like that to also not knowing how to proceed with NYADA. Shouldn’t he be happier that he finally got in? That he can join Rachel in the spring and try the crazy drama school experience as well?

A day ago, he would have bet everything he owns that not getting in would mean the end of the world. Now he is not so sure. But what else would he do?

Isabelle is typing away on her computer when Kurt knocks on her doorframe.

“Kurt, come in!” she says happily. “Take a seat.” Kurt does as he’s told. “So,” Isabelle continues, smirking at him, “we haven’t seen each other since the Christmas party.”

Kurt feels heat rush to his head. He completely forgot. Worrying about _kissing_ Blaine in the first place, he completely forgot that he kissed Blaine in a public space. In front of the _whole office_. Where they both work.

“Oh god,” he groans.

“How’ve you been?” Isabelle asks with a laugh. “Elated? Ecstatic? Grateful that I gave you Blaine’s number that day? I expect chocolate, just so you know.”

Kurt huffs out a breath. “Fine, you and the whole office were right about my crush on Blaine,” he mumbles, still embarrassed.

“And his crush on you,” she adds, shooting him a wide smile. “A new office romance! How exciting! Haven’t had one myself since my affair with the CEO of Vani-” She clears her throat. “Um, that’s a story for another day.”

“I see.” Kurt chuckles. “So… no biggie?”

Isabelle waves him off. “Of course not. As long as you both do your work as wonderfully as you have done thus far, I see no problem at all.” She pulls out a folder from her file cabinet. “Actually, I called you in here because of that.”

“Because of what? My… wonderful work?” Kurt asks hesitantly. He recognizes the first drawing in the folder when Isabelle opens it. It’s his design of a unisex pantsuit with various patterns.

“Exactly.” She taps on the drawing. “This is amazing, Kurt. I’ve filed each of your designs and I have to say… you show tremendous potential. And your event-planning isn’t half bad, either.” She leans closer and adds, in a stage whisper, “Except when you get mysterious calls from non-existent customers on your private phone.”

Kurt blushes. “Sorry. It really won’t happen ever again.”

“Ah, but who will bring me bagels from the cafeteria?” Isabelle asks with a pout before turning back to the folder. “Anyway, I love these, and… I have a proposal that might help getting your designs out there. Would you like to be featured at our Newcomer Fashion Gala next year?” Kurt gasps, which makes her laugh. “You’re surprised. You shouldn’t be. These are great, Kurt. If you wanted to extend your internship, maybe pursue a related degree at a university in the region and work for us in the meantime…” She looks at Kurt warmly. “You’d be more than welcome to stay, Kurt.”

Kurt held his breath while she spoke and now has trouble getting his breathing back to normal speed.

“Are you sure?” he asks, voice catching. “I mean, I’m just fresh out of high school and I _just_ got an offer from a drama school here in New York, I don’t even know if-”

Isabelle puts a hand on his arm. “Kurt, I’m not saying you have to decide right away. It’s an offer. Something to think about. You wrote in your application that you’ve been interested in fashion since you were out of diapers. I know someone else who was.” She smiles when Kurt silently motions for her to continue. “Me.”

“Yeah but weren’t you just… I don’t know, born to do this?” Kurt asks.

“Well, I always thought fashion was just a hobby, and so I started studying art history and only switched my major to fashion design in my third year of college. It’s not impossible to change your life’s direction when you find yourself wanting something else all of a sudden. And you’re still young.” She shrugs. “Just think about, okay? Even if you choose drama, I would love to continue working with you.” Laughing, she adds, “And of course you’re getting a pretty epic reference letter.”

“Isabelle,” Kurt croaks out. “I don’t know what to say. I’m…” He stops, taking a deep breath. “Thank you. I will think about it.”

She squeezes his arm before letting go completely. “Good,” she says. “Now go, I have emails to send to some very annoying people and I believe you have some catching up to do after you missed work for two days in a row.”

“Yup, I sure do,” Kurt says quickly and darts out of her office.

His heart is beating fast, contrasting the slow steps he takes back to the intern office. He could have a future in fashion design, why hasn’t he ever seriously thought about that? And it’s not even just on a whim, his designs are now officially approved by the great fashion icon Isabelle Wright.

He walks into the intern office in a daze, barely noticing that Blaine’s already turned in his desk chair to face him with a big smile on his face.

“Hi, Kurt, congrats on-” He frowns as Kurt sits down on his chair, having to reach out for the armrest to have something to hold on to. “Kurt, are you alright?”

“Blaine, my designs are good,” he says, still not quite believing it himself. “Isabelle wants to feature them in the next Newcomer Fashion Gala.”

Blaine laughs, eyes lighting up. “Kurt, that’s great! Double congrats!”

“Triple!” Kurt exclaims, finally perking up as well, encouraged by Blaine’s enthusiasm. “She wants to keep me here, Blaine. She wants me to continue to work here!”

“Oh my god!” Blaine gets up and throws his arms around Kurt, making his desk chair scoot backwards a little until Blaine’s almost half-lying on top of him.

“Woah there,” Kurt says, giggling. “Don’t make us have an accident amidst the good ne- news.” He gulps when he realizes how close Blaine’s face is all of a sudden. In a whisper, he says, “Hey.”

“Hi, Kurt,” Blaine replies smoothly and moves forward to capture his lips in a soft kiss. His lips are just as perfect as Kurt remembers them from last night, and he sighs happily as he reciprocates with a bit more pressure.

“I wanted to ask you if that was okay for you here in the office.” Blaine chuckles nervously as he pulls back and goes back to his own chair. “But then I got caught up in, well, um-” He gestures up and down Kurt’s body. “You.”

“Be my guest,” Kurt says, licking his lips slowly, the taste of Blaine’s morning coffee still dizzyingly traceable on his lips. “I’m not complaining.”

“Good.” Blaine gives him a lop-sided smile. “By the way, this came in the mail…” He pulls out an envelope that looks like it’s from…

“NYU!” Kurt says excitedly. “Did you open it?”

“Uh-huh.”

“What does it say, Blaine?!” Kurt asks, leaning closer.

“I got in, too!” Blaine exclaims, prompting another round of hugging each other close. Kurt’s glad the other interns aren’t in the office yet. He can do without the teasing for the moment.

“Oh my god, these are early Christmas presents,” Kurt says in wonder when they’ve both calmed down. “But now I don’t really know what to do.”

Blaine nods his understanding. “You said you weren’t as happy about NYADA as you thought.”

“Yeah.” Kurt bites his lip. “It’s weird because even though I’ve never really thought about staying in fashion… it was just supposed to be a side gig… even then, when Isabelle said that I could stay, I was so happy I could-” He stops, eyes going wide.

Blaine tilts his head, waiting for Kurt to finish.

“Sing!” Kurt breathes out. “Blaine, this is it! It’s a sign, it has to be. Rachel is waiting for me to sing a victory song, which of course is more metaphoric than…” He frowns. “I mean, she actually did sing when she got her letter but, I mean, still- _singing_!” Kurt runs a hand through his hair, not believing his own words. “I should have wanted to sing when I got my NYADA letter but instead I feel like singing _now_!”

“Kurt,” Blaine says, laughing. “Stop and breathe. If I’m not mistaken, what you’re saying is that you’re changing your mind about NYADA?”

Kurt looks up, searches Blaine’s face for any sort of judgement, and finds nothing but support there.

This is _insane_ , he’s been fighting for NYADA since the beginning of his senior year. He doesn’t even have a set alternative yet, no fashion school he’s admitted to, nothing but a loose promise from his boss that he can continue to intern at Vogue.com and get started on some of his designs.

But it’s _something_. At NYADA, he’ll have to climb his way to the top; here, at Vogue, he’s already well on his way there. And he loves working on his designs, working with Isabelle, getting to go to fashion events…

Maybe this really is a wake-up call. The sign he’s been looking for.

“Yes, I think so,” he finally replies. “I think I want to go into fashion design.”


	20. Now That's Just TACKY

**Step 20 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Don’t discuss personal fashion choices with your co-workers.**

Wes takes Kurt and Blaine out on a congratulatory dinner that night, and Blaine’s heart warms at how easily they get along, Kurt asking all the right questions about Wes’ pre-law degree and Wes being genuinely enthusiastic about Kurt’s new career opportunity.

“But listen, Kurt,” Wes says conspiratorially when they move from the restaurant to a cocktail bar, “the real question here is, as an up-and-coming fashion designer, can you get Blaine to start wearing socks in his shoes, yes or no?”

“Wes!” Blaine groans. The recurring topic is his kryptonite when it comes to Wes. “Enough already. I told you nobody wears socks with boat shoes.”

“Then maybe you should stop wearing boat shoes, hm?”

“Oh my god.” Blaine turns to Kurt for help, who’s looking back and forth between Blaine and Wes with a small grin. “Tell him I’m right, please, Kurt.”

He almost jumps when Kurt’s ankle bumps against his under the table but relaxes instantly. Kurt is smiling at him in a secretive way, a quick glance just like the others he’s been sneaking all night. They’re obviously not quite familiar with how to act in front of their friends yet, so they’ve refrained from kissing thus far (except for that glorious five-minute kiss Kurt initiated when Blaine invited him in before they went out because Wes was still in the bathroom). Blaine’s okay with that as long as it has Kurt looking at him like that every now and then. Like he’s trying to kiss him just by looking at him.

“Sorry, Wes,” Kurt says, eyes still fixated on Blaine, “I like the boat shoes. Very classy.”

“Damn right,” Blaine mumbles, face flushing at the praise.

It’s Wes’ turn to groan now. “Stop being so cute,” he complains. “Makes me painfully aware of how single I am. Are you going to be one of those couples who always gang up on their single friends and have the same opinion on everything?”

Blaine bites his lip anxiously. It’s not like Kurt and he have actually discussed what they are yet. Probably not single, so Wes has a point there, but a couple…? He feels like he should move the topic to something safer, even if it means discussing his style choices some more.

“Well, maybe Kurt and I just know how to dress because we work at Vogue,” Blaine says defiantly, throwing his napkin at Wes. “And you, my friend, simply have no clue.”

Kurt laughs. Wes just rolls his eyes with a good-natured smile.

“Sure, sure,” he says. “Wait till you see some of his more festive bowties, Kurt. Christmas is just around the corner.”

Kurt, bless him, just shrugs and says, “I like a good seasonal bowtie.”

“Ha!” Blaine says. He leans a bit into Kurt and adds, quieter, “Thank you.”

“Oh, come on!” Wes exclaims. “There has to be at least one item you don’t approve of in Blaine’s wardrobe. I’m sure of it.”

Blaine is sure of that as well but stays silent. He enjoys their friendly banter and the fact that Wes is the one struggling for once.

“Mh…” Kurt looks like he’s thinking. “That’s super tough because I have only seen a tiny fraction of his wardrobe and have no clue what other clothes he owns other than the ones I’ve seen him wear.”

Wes only tilts his head. “How about I tell you about some of his more risqué combinations then?”

“No risk, no fun.” Kurt smiles at Wes, accepting the challenge. “Try me,” he says.

“Grey sweater, red shirt, black bowtie.”

Kurt glances at Blaine. “Depends on the sweater but he’d definitely rock those colors.”

Blaine tilts his chin higher. Oh yeah, he’d rock those colors.

“Alright. White shirt, yellow collar, red and black bowtie.”

“How do you even memorize these so well?” Blaine asks with a laugh, at the same time as Kurt says, “Uh, yes, please! I can actually picture that pretty well.”

“Okay.” Wes shakes his head. “Salmon shirt, blue bowtie, different blue pants, red shoes, and honest-to-god plaid suit coat.”

“Oooh, professor look,” Kurt sing-songs, giving Blaine the once-over. “That would probably look pretty hot on him.”

“Honestly, Wes, do you take secret pictures of me?” Blaine takes a sip of his cocktail to hide how he blushes yet again. He just can’t help enjoying Kurt’s compliments a tiny bit too much. “That’s just pathetic.”

“Kurt,” Wes tries to level with him, ignoring Blaine, “you don’t have to defend all his choices, you know? I know this all new but… come on. Two different blues, red and salmon? Just… no.”

“Like I said,” Kurt replies, winking at Wes. “No risk, no fun.”

“Okay but what if I told you Blaine once wore a green-and-white striped shirt with suspenders-”

“Oh my god!” Kurt turns to Blaine, a gleam in his eye that’s telling Blaine he’s having just as much fun with this as Blaine is. “I bet you look so _cute_ in suspenders!”

Blaine’s about to flirt back and tell him that he does absolutely look cute in suspenders when Wes holds up his index finger and says, “I wasn’t finished… _and_ a pink bowtie.”

“Green and pink?!” Kurt purses his lips. “Ew, Blaine. Now that’s just tacky.”

Blaine’s jaw drops. “Kurt!” he says, shocked. “You stood by me through all of those and now you’re drawing the line at a pink bowtie.”

“If you combined it with green, absolutely,” Kurt tells him, raising his eyebrows as he tries to re-capture the straw of his cocktail with his mouth (and why, just why, does that look so adorable?!). “I mean, you know I like you, Blaine, but… I can’t help you there.”

Wes grins at Blaine smugly. “Haha!” he says triumphantly. “Not such a fashion icon after all.”

“You both suck,” Blaine whines grumpily and downs the last bit of his cocktail. “I feel like drowning my sorrows in alcohol.”

Wes has finished his as well. “You know what?” he says. “I’ll get all of us another round. It’s on me because I finally have someone to back me on the green-and-pink issue.”

“Thank you for the cocktail!” Blaine calls out after him. “But you still suck!”

“Aaaw.” Kurt scoots closer as soon as Wes is gone. “I’m sorry. But I had to give him that. I still think you’re looking incredibly handsome in that cardigan, you know?”

Blaine looks down at this dark red cardigan, perking up a little. “Yeah?” he asks.

“Very much so,” Kurt mutters and swiftly moves in to kiss Blaine, ankles still pressed together, one of Kurt’s hands on Blaine’s thigh, and holy hell, Kurt is very, very good at appeasing Blaine.

“You probably even made green and pink work, didn’t you?” Kurt asks mid-kiss, and even though Blaine couldn’t care less about fashion right now, he hums in agreement and pauses their kiss for a second. “You’re just unfair like that.”

“ _You’re_ unfair,” Blaine sniffs mockingly, “making me forget all about being upset.”

Kurt chuckles. “I know, I have my ways.”

“I like your ways.”

“Do you now?”

“Obviously.” Blaine blinks up at Kurt. “Hey, Kurt… what Wes said about being a couple…”

“I thought you’d never bring it up,” Kurt huffs out. “Yes. Yes, yes, yes.” He kisses Blaine again. “I want to.” He stops then, making a soft clicking sound with his tongue. “Unless you don’t. In that case, we can just forget I-”

“Couple it is,” Blaine says softly, making Kurt smiles. He _loves_ making Kurt smile, so he adds, “It’s all I want for Christmas.”

It does make Kurt smile even wider, though he says, “You’re still getting a Christmas present, silly.”

They go back to making out before Blaine can reply, and they’re still all tangled and breathless when Wes returns with three new cocktails, but Blaine can’t help but panic a little at the thought of having to get a Christmas present for his new _boyfriend_.

But all things considered, just having a boyfriend in the first place makes his heart beat a bit faster.


	21. Mr. UNIVERSE

**Step 21 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Don’t let the hectic Christmas time get to you.**

Having a boyfriend for the first time in Christmas season is simultaneously wonderful and nerve-wracking.

On the one hand, the city is very festive and romantic throughout December, on the other, Kurt is so busy with Vogue errands – especially now that the actual holidays are only a week away – that he barely manages to catch lunch with Blaine, and it isn’t like Blaine is any less occupied, either. Every time they do meet up, though, Kurt’s skin starts tingling, his mood improves significantly and he feels like skipping and prancing around. He’s so far gone it isn’t even funny.

However, not seeing each other all too often despite just having gotten together is getting a bit ridiculous, so they decide on a pre-Christmas Christmas date on the 21st, one day before they both fly home to Ohio – which means Kurt has got about… two more days, three hours and approximately 25 minutes to finish Blaine’s present.

So, he’s looking forward to seeing Blaine in private but he’s also dreading it because… what if he doesn’t finish the present beforehand? What if he does but Blaine hates it? What if it doesn’t _fit_? Okay, he’s not exactly tailoring a suit but even the sweater he’s working on is hard to manage because he didn’t have a way to secretly get Blaine’s measurements and has to work with a picture of a sweater that Wes sent him.

He’s trying to plan the next step for Blaine’s sweater _and_ the upcoming first fashion show of the new year at the same time when his phone beeps with a message.

**_Kurt, this is an intervention via text since you won’t be here for tea time. I stopped by the admissions office today. They confirmed that you haven’t responded yet._ **

Kurt sighs, texting back, _Rachel, how did you even get them to tell you that? I’m pretty sure they don’t give out that kind of information to just anyone. Besides, I told you I’m going to get back to them after Christmas._

**_I have my ways. But what’s there to decide??? I’m honestly starting to think you don’t want to go to NYADA with me anymore._ **

_Rachel, I promise I’ll talk to you about this soon but I really need you to back off for a while, okay? Gotta go, I’m busy._

Kurt pinches the bridge of his nose and puts the phone away. Besides Christmas gifts and work and having a new boyfriend, he also has Rachel to worry about. She won’t stop pestering him about NYADA, and he’s afraid that if he tells her that he’s not going to accept the admission offer, she is going to kidnap him and force him to enroll or just forge his signature. He wouldn’t have a single minute to spare if she knew he changed his mind.

However, if she’s already suspicious _now_ , she probably won’t let him have any peace over the next few days. Unless… yeah, maybe he should just schedule truth time with her. He picks up the phone again.

 _If I promise to talk to you_ and _call NYADA on the morning of the 22nd right before my flight, will you let me have the apartment on the 21st? Blaine’s coming over for our first official alone-time date and… I kinda need you to be gone._

**_That’s days away, Kurt… but fine. If that’s what you want, fine. And yes, I can be gone. Though I gotta tell you, I’m hurt you went to Santana before you came to me for Christmas present advice. Putting out on the first date and as a Christmas gift? Not the best way to lose your virginity._ **

Kurt almost drops his phone but manages to catch it before it hits the floor.

_Oh my god, Rachel! That’s so not what I’m giving him as a Christmas present! I just want a quiet evening with him… jeez._

**_Assuming I’m not quiet? :P Alright, I’ll be gone. See you tonight, soon-to-be NYADA buddy!_ **

The urge to bury his head under the stack of documents he needs to work through is tempting. But he perseveres.

Fast forward two days, three hours and approximately 15 minutes later, Blaine is on his doorstep, punctual and devastatingly handsome as ever, holding a small envelope out in front of him with a big grin.

“Merry early Christmas!” he says brightly, darting in to kiss Kurt’s cheek. “Oh, work greeting. Forgot. We’re alone now.” He waggles his eyebrows suggestively, making Kurt laugh. Blaine moves in closer, lips brushing Kurt’s. “I can do this…”

Kurt winds his arms around Blaine and melts into his body before the kiss even starts. He’s missed this. It’s only been a week since they got together but he’s already missed kissing Blaine like this, in private and with seemingly endless time on their hands. Taking advantage of empty hallways or early mornings in the office at Vogue.com just doesn’t quite cut it.

“Merry early Christmas,” Kurt echoes breathily when they part for air.

“Oh, it’s merry alright,” Blaine sighs happily, dropping his head to Kurt’s shoulder. “I didn’t know it was possible to miss someone this much even though you see them each day.”

Kurt’s belly does some cheery somersaults at Blaine’s words and he needs to catch his breath before he says, “I know the feeling.” Then he taps Blaine’s hand that is holding the envelope. “Is that for me?”

Blaine pulls back and holds the hand out again. “Yes, right,” he says with a shake of his head and a laugh. “I got distracted, sorry. This is indeed your present.”

“Well, come on in, make yourself at home and I’ll… take this,” Kurt teases, practically ripping the envelope from Blaine’s hand. His very first gift from his very first boyfriend and his very first non-single Christmas. That is certainly exciting.

As Blaine hangs his coat on the rack, Kurt gets his letter opener and takes care of the envelope. He peers inside. “Tickets?” he asks, pulling out two cards. “To… _Waitress_? Oh my god!”

Blaine smiles. “I thought someone who bakes and sings at a professional level should not be deprived of the musical genius of Sara Bareilles in a story about pies.”

“Blaine,” Kurt chokes out. “I love it. Thank you!” He looks up from the tickets. “Two tickets? So…”

“You can take anyone you want,” Blaine says quickly. “I mean, I would love to be your date, but if you have some sort of tradition with Rachel or, I don’t know, want to take your stepmom or someone…”

“Of course I’ll go with you, silly!” Kurt says, unable to keep the enamored tone out of his voice and finding that he doesn’t actually want to. He can be enamored with his boyfriend who got him tickets to a Broadway musical he’s desperately wanted to see, can’t he? “I wouldn’t dream of taking anyone else.”

“Cool,” Blaine says, trying to sound casual but obviously pleased. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Like it? I love it,” Kurt says earnestly. “But… Broadway is expensive… I didn’t get you anything that-”

“And you didn’t need to,” Blaine says at once. “My parents are paying for college and part of my rent, so I had some extra money, don’t worry about it. I’m going to love whatever you’re giving me.”

“Okay.” Kurt takes a deep breath as he turns and gets Blaine’s gift from the coffee table. “Well… here it is.”

Blaine sits down on the couch as he opens it, and Kurt’s heart beats fast enough to break some sort of record. He finished the present in time and he’s pretty sure it’ll look decent but there’s no guarantee for Blaine liking it, and nobody prepared him for how scary gift-giving can be when it’s for a boyfriend.

“Wow!” Blaine says, running his fingers through the soft, dark green material he’s holding now. “Is that… a sweater?”

Kurt nods. “Made it myself.”

“You did?!” Blaine looks up. “What- you _made_ a sweater for me?”

“Yup.” Kurt licks his lip. “It’s totally fine if you don’t like it, I can always give you-”

“Of course I like it, Kurt,” Blaine says, getting up to engulf him in a hug. “It’s so soft, I can’t believe you _made_ this.”

Kurt chuckles, relieved and elated at Blaine’s reaction. “Well, I am going into design. And I believe I owed you one for making fun of animal sweaters and then showing up at your place wearing one with a kitten on it, so…” He takes the sweater from Blaine and points to the tiny Labrador wearing a Christmas hat that he stitched onto one sleeve. “I still think animal sweaters are dangerously tacky, so it had to be small.”

Blaine barks out a laugh. “Oh my god,” he says. “That’s so cute.”

“It was going to be a kitten at first but then I thought you seem more like a dog person.”

“I am. And I love this color, too.”

“It’ll go great with your hair and skin tone.”

“Kurt…” Blaine tilts his head. “This is so thoughtful. You _made_ a sweater for me. Now I feel like such a douchebag giving you tickets…”

“No!” Kurt hugs the tickets to his chest protectively. “No taking back gifts, I like yours, you like mine… we’re good.”

“Okay.” Blaine smiles at him. “Should I try this on then?”

“That would be best,” Kurt says. “Because I didn’t really have anything to go by size-wise except that photo Wes sent me…”

“Ah, so that’s what he broke into my wardrobe for.” Blaine laughs as he walks over to Kurt’s room. “I thought he borrowed one of my bowties again, and he knows how much I hate that.”

Kurt waits a bit anxiously as Blaine changes. He hopes it’ll look good.

Good, however, is the understatement of the year. When Blaine emerges from behind the curtain, Kurt’s jaw actually drops.

“That’s a good reaction,” Blaine decides after hesitating a second. “I saw your bad reaction when you came across those really bad photoshoot results at the office.”

“That’s a _really_ good reaction,” Kurt breathes out, stepping closer to stroke Blaine’s arm through the fabric. “Wow, not to toot my own horn here but… you look like you could win a pageant in this. This is a winning look for sure.”

Blaine throws his head back with laughter, then strikes a body-builder pose.

“Yeah?” he asks in a deep voice. “You think I have what it takes to be Mr. Universe?”

Kurt giggles. “I hate having to tell you this but I don’t think you’ve got enough muscles to be Mr. Universe.”

“Hey, I could always hit the gym.”

“And you’re probably not tall enough, either.”

“Ouch,” Blaine says, grinning at Kurt.

“Yeah, sadly, they don’t actually _ask_ everyone in the universe for votes because I’m pretty sure if they did, you’d win in a heartbeat. You’ve got my vote.”

Blaine laughs. “Okay, now you’re just flattering me for fun.”

“I am.” Kurt bites his lip teasingly. “It’s called flirting, you know?”

“Ah.” Blaine nods, leaning in and winking at Kurt as he says, “Hoping to get Mr. Universe to kiss you, are you?”

Kurt plays along. “Yeah. Think he’s dumb enough to mistake the eggnog in my fridge for a protein shake so I can lure him in with alcohol?”

“Not exactly. But I’ve got it on good authority that he’s got a pretty desperate crush on you and doesn’t need any convincing, so you should just, you know… go for it.”

“Well, in that case…” Kurt walks his fingers along Blaine’s new sweater until he reaches Blaine’s neck and pulls him in. “Shut up and kiss me, Mr. Universe.”


	22. That's What VIDEO Chatting is for

**Step 22 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Make time for family visits (pt. 1).**

_I should just stay in NYC next year._

Blaine grins at the incoming text message. It looks like their obligatory family dinners ended at the exact same time – he _just_ retreated to his room and threw himself on his bed, thankful for some alone time, even if it’s just for that half hour until Cooper comes home as well (from then on, it’s going to be hell).

**Aww, come on, Kurt. I know Christmas can be exhausting but it’s only the 24th, you need to keep going for a few days. Besides, aren’t you glad to spend some time with your family?**

_I am glad to see them. But I have so much work to do that I can’t delay until after Christmas… ugh. Also, Rachel is furious at me for declining my offer of admission at NYADA._

**Didn’t Isabelle make you promise not to do any work over the holidays? And Rachel will surely come to her senses soon.**

_She did but she didn’t see my crossing my fingers behind my back. And no, she won’t. She said I ruined Hanukkah for her._

Blaine shakes his head at the text message and presses the call button.

“Stop working right now,” he orders as soon as Kurt’s on the other line.

“I’m not working,” Kurt replies.

It’s not convincing.

“I can hear you type in the background, Kurt.”

“I’ll stop in a minute.”

Blaine knows that’s not going to happen, so he goes for blatant distraction. “I miss you,” he says. It’s not like he has to fake that feeling. “It’s been two days and I miss you already.”

Kurt sighs, and the typing stops. “I know. Another reason to stay in NYC.”

“We’re actually just a two-hour drive apart, you know? It’s almost the same as with New York’s busy public transport.”

“Nah, it doesn’t take me two hours to get to your apartment in New York,” Kurt says. “Besides, we don’t work together here, so we don’t see each other. I kinda want to see your face.”

“Mh.” Blaine rolls to the other side of the bed where his laptop is sitting. “You know, that’s what video chatting is for.”

Kurt hums. “I’ve got time. You?”

“Half an hour, maybe.” Blaine opens his Skype. “Text me your Skype ID.”

Two minutes later, Kurt’s face shows up on his screen and Blaine’s own lights up like a Christmas tree – he can see it in his own video window at the bottom. He’s falling for Kurt ridiculously fast but it’s not like he wants to stop.

“Hey there,” he says, not bothering to hide his wide smile.

“Hey yourself,” Kurt says back with a matching grin.

They talk about their Christmas plans for a while before moving to other, broader topics, and half an hour goes faster than Blaine would like it to. He doesn’t say anything, though – his parents will get him once Cooper arrives.

“You know what video chatting is not for?” Kurt says sadly.

“What?”

“Kissing.” Kurt drops his head to his pillow, either hiding a pout or a blush, and Blaine’s fine with either.

“I know,” Blaine mumbles, picking at his sheets. “I want to kiss you, too.” Then he laughs. “We’re so sappy, Kurt.”

Kurt suddenly sits up. “Oh my god.”

“What? Did I-”

“Blaine, your-”

“Squirt!” the very familiar voice of his very-much-visible-in-the-video brother greets him. He can see Kurt mouth the word “squirt” with a grin. Oh god. “I was going to ask why on earth you didn’t greet me at the door with your usual enthusiasm but kissing is much more interesting, _that_ I understand. So, tell me, is it only hypothetical kissing or are you two actually-”

“Hi, Cooper!” Blaine interrupts, ears red (stupid video, he can actually _see_ how embarrassing this is). “I see you still haven’t learned how to knock.”

“Merry Christmas Eve to you, too.” Cooper pouts before turning up his million watt smile again. “And who is this lovely young man who’d be kissing you right now if he weren’t trapped in a laptop?”

“That’s Kurt, my…” Blaine takes a deep breath. “Boyfriend.”

Kurt merely lets out a squeak on the other line as Cooper leans down to wave at him over Blaine’s shoulder.

“Oh, I look good on your HD webcam, Squirt,” he says. “I should get one like that, too.”

“Stop calling me that,” Blaine says weakly. “And… Kurt, meet Cooper.”

Cooper flashes him his teeth. Kurt smiles back, if a little reserved.

“Why did you not tell me you had a boyfriend, Blaine?” Cooper asks. “Mom doesn’t know, does she? No, she can’t, otherwise I would have already been told.” He glances at Kurt. “She’s a gossip, our mom.”

“Nobody knows yet, Coop,” Blaine says, though he knows that statement will soon need to be rectified. Cooper inherited the gossipy genes from their mother.

“Ah, a secret boyfriend!” Cooper looks excited. “You should have brought him along as a Christmas surprise. Or do you live somewhere far away, Kurt? Wait, let me guess. You’re pale… Minnesota? Alaska? Oooh, are you Canadian?”

“I’m from Ohio,” Kurt says, biting his lip. “Two hours from your place.”

“No way! Blaine, he needs to meet me. And the family, of course!”

“Coop, I don’t think-”

“I’ll go ask mom which date works best!”

“Coop! What-”

Cooper is out of the room before Blaine can finish the sentence. Blaine turns back to Kurt, sighing.

“Sorry,” he says. “I was going to tell them quietly over Christmas but now…”

“I would love to meet your family,” Kurt reassures him. “If I can get out of the family obligations at one point, that is.”

“Not too early?” Blaine asks, a bit hopeful now. He’s pretty sure that Kurt and his mom would get along great. His dad won’t say much, he’s the quiet one in the family. And Cooper… well, he’ll be Cooper.

“No time like the present,” Kurt replies swiftly. “It’s something my dad says all the time. Ever since mom died, he’s a bit of a carpe diem guy.” Kurt pauses, eyes flitting around for a second. “You know, if I tell them I’m meeting your family, my family is going to want to meet you, too.”

Blaine considers it for a moment. He’d meet Burt and Carole, which is a bit scary, but from Kurt’s stories, they sound like amazing parents. He’s actually looking forward to getting to know Finn, whom he would probably get along with well. And he’s a bit curious to meet the guy Kurt had his first real crush on.

“Sounds good to me,” he tells Kurt earnestly, and Kurt smiles so wide that his teeth show.

“Can’t wait, then,” he replies.

“But no ogling my brother,” Blaine adds on an afterthought. “I’m not sure how well I’ll handle that.”

Kurt laughs. “Ah, but Blaine, I know better than to ogle your brother in person. That’s what video chatting is for, you know?”

“Hey!” Blaine can’t help but laugh, too.

With a dreamy sigh, Kurt says, “He looks even better now than he did in that commercial.”

“Okay, I’ll make sure Cooper is miraculously gone the day you come and visit.”

Kurt laughs again. “Well, what can I say? I’m only human.” He clears his throat. “Though in all seriousness, he’s way too straight and self-centered for my taste. He’s basically a gender-bent Rachel.”

“Ah, you like them gay and caring?” Blaine teases, continuing in a lilt, “Honey, I’m all ears.”

“Oh god, Blaine.” Kurt practically doubles over laughing. “Gay and caring sounds about right, though.”

“Well.” Blaine opens his arms wide. “I’m all yours.”

“All mine.” Kurt’s eyes sparkle even on camera. “I like the sound of that.”

“Me, too.” Blaine glances at his door. “I should get going. Cooper’s probably called half of the extended family by now to tell them I’ve eloped or something.”

“He really does sound like Rachel,” Kurt says, rolling his eyes. “Okay, go save our reputation. I’ll text you once I know which day works best. Bye, Blaine!”

“Bye, Kurt!”

Once they’re disconnected, Blaine joins his family downstairs, his mother unsurprisingly squealing in his ear at hearing the news. His dad just smiles at him proudly and hands him some champagne.

Cooper throws his arms around Blaine. “Okay, for real now, merry Christmas Eve, little brother,” Cooper says.

“Merry Christmas Eve, Coop.” Blaine squeezes his brother’s arms. He’s sort of missed him.

Cooper is a total egomaniac but he has his moments. And good ideas.


	23. WINTER Wonderland

**Step 23 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Make time for family visits (pt. 2)**

Kurt’s amazed at how normal and domestic it feels to have Blaine over during the holidays.

He drove to Westerville to meet Blaine’s family yesterday, and got to know the less famous Pam Anderson, who turned out to be right up his alley concerning taste in clothes, food and humor. She’s quirky and fun, a little over-excited at times, and Blaine’s all her when it comes to that. And then he’s very much like his dad when it comes to appearances and demeanor. Same shining eyes, same smile, same build, same soft way of talking… meeting Blaine’s dad was kind of like looking at Blaine in forty years.

And Cooper – well, he really is a male version of Rachel. Kurt warmed up to him quickly – hard not to when he’s met with the same charm that attracted him to Blaine. But it’s easy to decipher that Cooper’s charm comes from a place of self-involved confidence, whereas Blaine’s is more genuine, more down-to-earth and born out of manners rather than intent.

Trying to confirm this observation, Kurt found himself staring at Blaine mindlessly whenever an opportunity presented itself, which at one point led to him having to embarrassedly admit to Blaine’s mother that he was lost in thought. Her answering smirk was a bit terrifying but Blaine’s red face and pleased, lopsided grin made it all worthwhile, even more so when the grin was still firmly in place when Blaine escorted Kurt to his car at the end of the day and proceeded to kiss him senseless once they were out of sight.

Embarrassing moments aside, though, meeting Blaine’s family felt like a natural step in their relationship, comfortable and just _right_ , which has Kurt shaking his head at himself. After all, it should feel weirder, shouldn’t it? Who introduces their new boyfriend of a week and a half to their family?

Kurt and Blaine, apparently. Because here Blaine is, talking to Carole and Kurt’s dad over at the living room window like they’ve known each other for ages while Kurt and Finn clear the coffee table.

When he mentions this to his brother, he just shrugs.

“If you had met Blaine in high school, we probably would have seen him way before he even was your boyfriend, you know?” he says. “I mean, Quinn and Rachel never brought me home to introduce me to their parents, really. They already knew me.” He shrugs again. “Just because you met Blaine in New York doesn’t mean that it has to be any different.” Kurt figures that makes sense but before he can agree verbally, his brother sets down the tea cups with a loud clank and rushes to the window. “No way, it’s snowing!”

Kurt looks up to see Blaine, Carole and his dad gesticulating excitedly forFinn and Kurt to come over. He takes a second to appreciate how well they seem to get along already. It’s definitely way too early to make plans for the future – but Kurt can’t help but picture them in exactly the same spot this time next year, if a bit less awkward because they’ll finally know how to act comfortably around each other.

He bites back a smile as he thinks back to how formal Blaine was when he arrived earlier, all polite smiles and short, reserved answers. It’s been only three hours but he’s dropped the Mr. Hummel and Mrs. Hudson already, and he also dared to kiss Kurt’s cheek twice over dinner. And now he’s practically bouncing up and down with excitement at the sight of snow.

Kurt rolls his eyes fondly as he joins them at the window.

“Look, Kurt, snow!” Blaine gushes, taking his hand and pulling him in so that Kurt can look at it from his spot.

Kurt chuckles as he sees the small snowflakes fall and immediately melt on the grass.

“Yeah, it’s a real Winter Wonderland,” he drawls teasingly.

Blaine turns his head to Kurt with a pout. “Aw, where’s the Christmas spirit?”

“Hm, it must have left my body around the time Christmas officially ended,” Kurt muses with a grin. “Any time after Christmas, snow is just annoying.”

“You cannot be serious!” Blaine gasps. “Snow is amazing! It’s so soft and-”

“It’s not soft, it’s wet,” Kurt counters. “It prevents me from getting from one place to another without trouble, and as soon as it melts, the streets get all icy and dangerous.”

Blaine just continues to stare at him in disbelief.

“Kurt, I think you just broke him,” Finn says with a laugh, clapping him on the back.

“But… building snowmen,” Blaine says.

“Is overrated,” Burt and Kurt say in unison, Burt making air quotes as he speaks. Then he adds, “You sure you know what you got yourself into, buddy?”

“Snow angels? Snowball fights?”

“Have you _seen_ my clothes?”

Carole laughs. “That one was a given.”

Blaine huffs out a laugh. “Mh…” He snaps his fingers all of a sudden. “Snowflakes that stay on your nose and eyelashes.”

“Okay, you got me there,” Kurt relents.

“Ha!”

“Both the feeling and the song.”

Blaine claps his hands. “Okay, I can live with that, I guess. But I should probably warn you I’m a snow enthusiast.”

Kurt smiles as he tilts his head and takes in Blaine’s excited posture and the way his eyes sparkle. “I never would have guessed,” he jokes. “Aren’t you a real Lorelai Gilmore?”

Blaine smiles back. “Fits because you’re basically being Luke Danes right now.”

“Excuse you!” Kurt says, shuddering at the thought. “I don’t do flannel shirts and baseball caps.”

He’s met with protest – but not from Blaine.

“What’s wrong with flannel shirts and baseball caps?!” his dad exclaims. “Besides, do I need to remind you of what you wore in your straight phase?”

Blaine blinks in surprise. “Kurt had a straight phase?”

“That was like a week, and it was _not_ a straight phase, thank you very much,” Kurt grumbles, looking up at the ceiling with an exasperated sigh.

Burt motions for Blaine to follow him to the book shelf. “I’ve got pictures.”

“Oh my god, what have I done?” Kurt moans in horror, and curses himself for taking this decision so lightly. Maybe it would have been better to just never introduce Blaine to his parents.

Then again, as he watches Blaine laugh at his old childhood pictures in delight, he figures it’s not so bad to let someone in and discover him, start to finish. It feels nice, really.

He stays at the window, pretending to be sulky, but he has to smile every time Blaine looks up in wonder to compare then-Kurt to now-Kurt. Blaine smiles back without fail, making Kurt feel like his heart is doing jumping jacks in his chest.

He’s pretty sure he’s falling in love, and he doesn’t care how early it is for that.


	24. The Year Is Still YOUNG

**Step 24 of How to Succeed in the Fashion Industry: Look forward, plan ahead, make your dreams come true.**

“What do you mean you’re snowed in?” Wes asks.

“I mean CMH is almost completely shut down because of the weather,” Blaine replies, not bothering to add ‘duh’. “Everybody’s flights are delayed, the waiting area is _packed_.”

It’s true, Blaine has never seen this many people at the airport, let alone any area of Columbus, really.

“So what you’re telling me is that you’re not taking me to Vogue’s New Year’s party…?”

“I really wish I could tell you otherwise,” Blaine sighs. “I was looking forward to it, too.”

Wes grumbles something in response but they lose connection. While Blaine tries to call him again, he listens in to Kurt talking to Isabelle while typing away on his laptop at the same time.

“Um, I can’t find- are you _sure_ I didn’t send it already? Have you looked- oh, wait, I just found it, I’ll just send it again.” Kurt hums and types faster. “Yes, at least five people and their plus ones. No, of course not.”

Wes’ voice comes up again. “Sorry, bad connection. You were saying?”

“There’s a small, very small chance that we might make it back an hour to midnight, drop off our stuff and rush to the party.” Blaine pauses. “But, like, very small.”

“So… I’ll just wait for you then?” Wes asks. “I feel like it would be inappropriate to go alone. I’m just a plus one. I should wait for you, right? And if we’re not going, I guess we’ll still have Netflix.”

“I guess… listen, I gotta go, I can’t hear the announcements when I’m on the phone,” Blaine says. “I’ll text you.”

“Good luck!”

“Thanks.” He hangs up, and turns back to Kurt who’s now nodding along with Isabelle’s words.

“Okay, yes, I’ll stay in touch. Sorry I’m not there. Yep. Bye!” Kurt groans as he ends the call. “Oh, fuck me, this is a nightmare.”

“Still on the line,” Isabelle’s voice comes through the speaker.

Kurt slaps a hand in front of his mouth. “Jesus, wrong button. Sorry.”

“Meh,” Isabelle says. “Fuck me, too, actually. I hope I’ll see you later! Tell Blaine I said hi.”

“Hi back,” Blaine says, grinning. When Kurt manages to finally end the call for real, he asks, “So?”

“I knew I should have gotten more work done before returning,” Kurt says miserably. “I thought I’d have time to finalize the guest list once I was back but since half of the prep team is missing because of the snow storms, she needs it right _now_ and I still had to add five more people and their plus ones and – ugh, this is why I hate snow. I told you I hated it, didn’t I? See what it does?”

“This amount of snow really does suck,” Blaine agrees. “But – if Rachel’s really as good at getting what she wants as you say she is, we might at least get on the same flight and sit together.”

As if on cue, Rachel reappears to tell them that she succeeded in getting a row for them on their new flight. Just as they change gates, there’s another announcement that their plane will be at least thirty minutes late.

“Great, we’re not going to make it,” Kurt says.

“We still might,” Blaine says. “In any case, it’s no use driving yourself crazy.”

Kurt barely spares him a look, instead grabbing his phone from his suitcase. “Ugh, aaand my phone is dying. That’s it. I’m officially pissed.”

“As opposed to before,” Rachel points out, sharing a look with Blaine.

It’s true – Kurt’s proven to be not very stress-resistant. He’s been on edge ever since they arrived at the airport and were told that they wouldn’t be flying anywhere for the next three hours. Of course, he’s the only one of the three of them who actually has to work today, so Blaine tries not to judge.

“How about you just take a seat?” Blaine suggests. “I’ll get us all some coffee and I’m sure it’ll all-”

“Do not say it’ll be okay, Blaine,” Kurt snaps. “Just don’t. We’ll be stuck here all night, I know it.”

Blaine blinks, surprised. Rachel looks startled, too, so he figures it can’t just be him who finds that Kurt is overreacting.

“Kurt, I’m just saying-” he starts but Kurt interrupts him.

“Yeah, well, I don’t want to hear any of that optimistic bullshit.” Kurt gets up. “I’m gonna take a walk and look for a free electrical socket.”

Blaine stares after him.

“What…” He turns to Rachel. “What did I do?”

“I don’t think it’s anything you did,” Rachel says, looking clueless as well. “That was just plain rude.”

Blaine sighs. “Well, I guess I’m gonna get coffee anyway. You want some?”

Rachel gives him her order and promises to watch their bags. As Blaine stands in the impossibly long line for about twenty minutes, he can feel himself getting more upset with Kurt. He really just tried to help. He did not deserve being insulted for trying to stay optimistic.

He can’t help being a bit offhand as he orders his coffee and then gets really irritated at himself for potentially spreading the bad mood, so he tips the barista twice the amount he’d usually give and wishes her a nice day, eliciting a delighted smile.

When he waits for his coffee, Kurt appears at his side.

“How do you do that?” he asks, looking a bit tired.

“What?” Blaine looks at his boyfriend apprehensively. He would rather communicate that he feels like he’s just been treated badly than just gloss over it like he so often does with others.

“You stay so positive and kind…” Kurt sniffs a bit. “I just get closed off and unbearable. I’m sorry.”

Blaine looks at the two coffees in his hand. “Let’s get a table. I’ll bring Rachel another coffee later.” When they’ve found one and are both seated in a small booth close to each other, Blaine continues, “What happened? I was trying to cheer you up and you just-”

“I just needed to vent and you were blocking it by being so supportive and positive.” Kurt groans as soon as he’s said it. “That sounds so bad. It’s no excuse, I know.”

“It’s really not,” Blaine agrees, biting his lip. “This is our first meeting all over again, isn’t it? Me being chit-chatty and you trying to just be left alone.”

“Blaine…” Kurt breathes out, visibly apologetic. He ducks his head to try and catch Blaine’s eye. “Blaine, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s not you. I like that you’re all lively and chit-chatty and fun. It was all me, I promise. I was just being a dick.”

Blaine smiles a bit despite himself.

“Is me calling myself a dick helping?” Kurt asks at once. “I can do that some more.”

“It’s fine, Kurt,” Blaine says, though he smiles wider.

“Are you sure?” Kurt asks carefully. “I just feel like I’m being a horrible boyfriend.”

“Because you snapped at me?” Blaine asks, laughing. “Of course not. Couples fight. They make up. All done.”

“Yeah, but you weren’t even fighting _back_ ,” Kurt counters. “I was mean and you were sad, and that’s it.”

Blaine looks up at him. “Kurt,” he says. “I’m glad you apologized. But, really, this? It’s just peanuts, not even a real fight. It’s going to be more than that one day, and that’ll be fine in retrospect, too.” He grins. “You know, it’ll be reversed someday. I’m not always sunshine and smiles, either. I get really moody when things don’t work my way as well or when I run out of gel. You’ll have to put up with me then, too.”

Kurt sighs in relief. “I think I can handle it. I’ll have an emergency gel stash at my apartment.”

“See? You’re a great boyfriend.” Blaine laughs. “And next year, we’re going to book flexible tickets and pack lots of stuff in case we get stuck, including extra batteries for our phones. Then that’ll be fine, too, and we’ll be even _better_ boyfriends, okay?”

“Next year…” Kurt seems to perk up at that, and Blaine realizes he just assumed their relationship would last more than a year. The thing is… he really does believe they’re in it for the long haul, even if they have to work on communication in the meantime. The corners of Kurt’s lips curve up in a smile. “Yeah, that’s a good plan.”

Blaine smiles back, relishing the fact that Kurt looking at him like that is way more effective than the caffeine in his medium drip. He’s feeling more energetic already.

“For the record,” he says. “I wasn’t going to hold it against you that the crappy day at the airport got to you. I was a bit miffed but… well, you apologized and you had your reasons. I know you had to work on top of being stuck, so… double the craziness.”

“Well,” Kurt replies, “work didn’t help but that wasn’t what I was so upset about. I was really just kind of pissed that I’m going to miss my first New Year’s party in New York, and with everyone in the office… and with you. We might miss that romantic New Year’s kiss with a view on the skyline and all that…”

Blaine hums. “Yeah, that really would be too bad.”

“But now I’m thinking,” Kurt continues, smiling, “that at least I _have_ you to miss all that with, you know? At least I have a boyfriend, and said boyfriend is making plans with me to do it all better _next_ year, and… I guess what I’m saying is I…” He stops, blushes and blinks down at his coffee before looking back up at Blaine. “I’m really happy to have you.”

“Kurt,” Blaine says, moved, reaching for Kurt’s hand. “That feeling is mutual.” He leans over to kiss Kurt softly and only pulls back when he physically feels Kurt relaxing. “Come on, let’s save Rachel from having to guard our luggage all day.”

They get more coffee for her, saunter back to their seats in the waiting area, hands linked and matching smiles on their faces. Rachel gives them a proud thumbs up.

“Solved the trouble in paradise?” she asks.

“All solved,” Kurt says. “I knew I wasn’t being reasonable, I just couldn’t stop myself. It didn’t help that my phone died.”

“You can use mine if you need to call Isabelle,” Rachel offers.

“Or mine,” Blaine chimes in.

Kurt waves them off. “To be honest, I just wanted to play Angry Birds to let off some steam. I’ll charge it on the plane.”

Blaine grins at that – typical. He might not understand everything about Kurt just yet, nor does Kurt know everything about him, but Blaine figures they’ll be just fine once they know how to communicate and sort these things out properly. They’re still young, their relationship is too, and they have a lot to learn.

In the end, they make it back to New York a few minutes before midnight. They have their midnight countdown in the cab to Kurt and Rachel’s apartment, and Rachel pretends to not watch them in the rearview mirror as they kiss and wish each other a happy New Year. Blaine even spots a bit of the skyline through the cab’s window and points it out to Kurt, which makes Kurt laugh and pull him back in.

“I don’t really care about the skyline right now,” he whispers.

“Well, in that case-” Blaine cuts himself off by kissing Kurt again.

Once they reach the loft – Wes and Brody are already waiting in front of the door – they call Isabelle, and Kurt presses the loudspeaker button, this time on purpose.

“Merry Christ- no wait, happy New Year,” Isabelle sing-songs, clearly tipsy. “There’s _so_ many fancy drinks at the bar. I tried all of them.”

Blaine laughs as Wes raises his eyebrows at the phone, whispering, “That’s your _boss_?”

“Hey Isabelle! Happy New Year,” Kurt replies. “So, we’re back in New York now. Is it still worth it to come to the party or will it wind down soon?”

“Kurt!” she exclaims, clearly taken aback. “How old do you think we are? Of course it’ll be worth it! We’re going to party all night long!” In the background, Blaine hears people cheering in agreement. “Seriously, we’re all young here. You are, too. I’d be disappointed if you didn’t show! So, see you in a bit!”

She hangs up on them, and Kurt looks up at their little group.

“Well, you heard the woman,” he says. “Let’s party!”

Rachel squeals, grabs Brody and Wes and pulls them toward the front door. Kurt and Blaine follow, a bit slower.

“You ready for the new year?” Blaine asks. “New career path, choosing university, more designing…”

“Making out with my hot boyfriend in the Vogue.com hallways…”

“That, too.” Blaine grins. “Even though there’ll be less opportunities to do so once he’s in college and not working alongside you.”

“Right. Damn.” Kurt nods, motioning for Blaine to step out of the door before him. “Vogue will really miss you.”

“I’ll be around a lot,” Blaine promises, winding his scarf around his neck. “Someone has to get you out of all those boring meetings, right?”

Kurt shuts the door and pulls Blaine in by the loose ends of his scarf.

“You better.” He kisses him, pulling at the scarf a bit and making Blaine press closer against him. “I love you, Blaine.”

Blaine freezes against him for a second.

“You don’t have to say it back, I just wanted you to know that that’s what this is for me. Love,” Kurt says quietly, smiling at Blaine contentedly. “I really just wanted to ring in the New Year with that. Though not in front of Rachel, obviously, so… here. And now. I love you.”

Blaine has to lean against the door to not fall over. He feels drunk already.

Even though he comes to realize that yes, he loves Kurt too, he doesn’t say it back that night. He just kisses Kurt with fervor until Wes comes back to physically drag them to the party.

He’ll have time to find his own perfect moment to tell Kurt. After all, the year is still young, it hasn’t even really started yet. There’s so many moments to come.

And it’s already shaping up to be the best year Blaine’s ever had. How could it not be? He’s got an exciting life in New York City, an admission letter to NYU, a successful internship at Vogue.com and Kurt Hummel’s love to prove it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand that's it for this year's Klaine Advent! :) May all of our years shape up to be a great one (and infinitely better than 2016)!
> 
> By the way, I actually wrote this because I had a oneshot about VogueIntern!Klaine that I wasn’t entirely happy with, so I used Klaine Advent as an excuse to start over. But reading the oneshot again, both works are really soooo incredibly different that I might just work on the oneshot some more and publish it as well (sometime in January). Anyone interested?


End file.
